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Hiotographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  institute  for  (historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  eny  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checited  below. 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


r~71   Covers  damaged/ 


D 


D 
D 


D 


Couverture  endommagte 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurAe  et/ou  pelliculAe 


□   Cover  title  missing/ 
Le 


titre  de  couverture  manque 

loured  maps/ 
Cartes  gAographiques  en  couleur 


rri   Coloured  maps/ 


□   Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  biaclt)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

I      I   Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


D 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  coule  jr 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
ReliA  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadtiws  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serrie  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intArieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restori^tion  rnuv 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  aJout6es 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte. 
mais.  lorsque  cela  Atait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  At6  filmies. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentai  ^s  tupplAmentalres; 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  ie  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  Att  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  methods  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquts  ci-dessous. 


Th 
to 


I — I   Coloured  pages/ 


n 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag6es 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restauries  et/ou  peiiiculAes 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxe< 
Pages  dicolortes,  tachettos  ou  piqutes 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  ditachies 

Showthroughy 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Qualiti  inigale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materii 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplAmentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


I — I  Pages  damaged/ 

r~~n  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

I — I  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

I     I  Pages  detached/ 

I      I  Showthrough/ 

I      I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I      I  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

[ — I  Only  edition  available/ 


po 
of 
fill 


Oi 
ba 
thi 
si< 
oti 
fir 
sic 
or 


Th 
sh 
Til 
wl 

Ml 
dil 
en 
be 
rig 
re< 
m« 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc..  have  been  rafilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partieilement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuiilet  d'errata.  une  palure, 
etc.,  ont  4t4  filmies  A  nouveau  de  fa^on  A 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

C«  document  est  filmA  au  taux  da  riduction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

y 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


Th«  copy  filmad  h«r«  h«*  b««n  raproducad  thank* 
to  tho  gonorosity  of: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 


L'axomplairo  film*  fut  raproduit  grAca  A  la 
ginAroait*  da: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 


Tha  imagaa  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
possibia  considaring  tha  condition  and  lagibiiity 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  Itaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacificationa. 


Original  copias  in  printad  papar  covars  ara  filmad 
baginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion,  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriata.  Ail 
othar  original  copias  ara  filmad  baginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion,  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illustratad  imprassion. 


Tha  last  racordad  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  ^^>  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Lea  images  auivantas  ont  AtA  reproduites  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin.  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattet*  de  I'exemplaira  film*,  et  en 
conformity  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmaga. 

Les  exemplairaa  originaux  dont  la  couvertura  en 
papier  est  imprimAe  sont  filmAs  en  commen^ant 
par  la  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
darnlAre  paga  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplairaa 
originaux  sont  filmis  en  commenpant  par  la 
premiAre  paga  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  darniire  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
darniire  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  ie 
cas:  la  symbols  -^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  Ie 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN  ". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmAs  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  Ie  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA,  il  est  film*  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  Ie  nombre 
d'images  nAcessairs.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

n 


\j[/oi7d^rla9d; 


OR, 


/\Usi^A  AND  -^ii  Inland  Passage 


BY 


LIEUT.    FREDERICK    SCHWATKA. 


WITH 


Bescription    of  i\)e    6ountry    traversed    by    ][)i 
\lor\\)ern    I    acific    iXallroaa, 


h 


I: 


JOHN    HYDE, 


Author  of  "Th.  Wondefland  Route  to  the  Pseific  Coast,"  "Alice's  Adventures  in  the 
New  Wonderland,"  etc,  etc. 


Coprig*rt»<f.   1886,   by  CHAS.  S.  FEE,   General  Passenger  Agent 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad,   St.  Paul. 


/i 


/ 


MINTiat    UNO    iNOIUVIU,  CHIOAOO 


60NTENTS. 


The  Development  of  the  Northwest — St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis 

Minnesota  Lakes  and  their  Attractions  for  the  Angler 

Brainerd,  Duluth,  Superior  and  Ashland  .         .         .  . 

Red  River  Valley        .  •  ,  ,  .         . 

The  Changes  of  a  Half  Century 

Great  Wheat  Farms  of  Dakota,  and  the  Capital  of  the  Territory 

"  Bad  Lands"  of  the  Little  Missouri 

Yell'  vstone  River       ....... 

Yellowstone  National  Park       ... 

Helena  and  the  Romance  of  Mining 

Main  Range  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 

Butte  City,  the  greatest  Mining  Camp  in  the  World 

The  Flathead  Country 

Clark's  Fork  and  Lake  Pend  d'Oreille 
Spokane  Falls         ..... 
Palouse  and  Walla  Walla  Wheat  Countries     . 

The  Columbia  River 

Portland  ..... 

The  Willamette  Valley  and  Southern  Oregon     . 

The  Lower  Columbia  and  City  of  Astoria,  with  Fisheries 

Western  Washington :  its  Scenery  and  Resources 

The  Sovereign  Mountain:  Tacoma         .... 

Puget  Sound  ....... 

Victoria,  British  Columbia  .... 

Discovery  Passage  .  .  . 

Queen  Charlotte  Sound  ...... 

Varieties  of  Fish  found  in  Inland  Passage 
Wrangell,  Alaska  .... 

Indian  Life,  Facilities  for  Studying  .  • 

Sitka,  Alaska         ....... 

}Iot  Springs  Bay,  Alaska    .  .  .... 

Climate  of  Sitka    .  ... 

Glaciers  of  Alaska      ...  ... 

Land  of  the  Chilkats       ...... 

Juneau,  Alaska,  and  the  Mines  of  Douglas  Island 
Glacier  Bay  ....... 

Mount  St.  Elias 


(8) 


Pare 

5,6 

6-8 

8 

10 

It 
la 

13.  14 
14-17 
18-20 
21-24 

24.  as 
25-28 
23,  29 
29-32 
33 
34.  35 
35-33 
33.  30 
40,  41 

41-44 
44 
45 

46-53 

53.  54 
56 
58 
60 

61,  63 
65-69 
71-75 
75 
77 
91-93 
79-83 
82-84 
84-90 
93.94 


51856 


Itnuk; 


INDBX   T0  ILLUSTRATI0NS. 


Alaska's  Thousand  Islands,  as  seen  from  Sitka     .  • 

An  Alaska  Indian  House,  with  Totem  Poles 

Chancel  of  the  Greek  Church,  Sitka     .  .  .         . 

Chilkat  Blanket     .... 

Columbia  River,  looking  Eastward  from  Rock  Bluff 
\)etroit  Lake  and  Hotel  Minnesota,  Detroit,  Minn. 
Falls  of  the  Gibbon  River,  National  Park     .  .  .  . 

Floating  Fish  Wheel,  Columbia  River      .... 

Hotel  Tacoma,  Tacoma,  W.  T.  .... 

Lake  Pend  d'Oreille,  Idaho    ...  . 

Mammoth  Hot  Springs  Hotel,  National  Park 

Mount  Hood,  from  the  Head  of  the  Dalles,  Columbia  River 

Mount  Tacoma,  W.  T.        ......  ■ 

Old  Faithful  Geyser,  National  Park 

Scenes  among  the  Alaskan  Glaciers      .... 

Scenes  in  the  Inland  Passage  .  .         .         • 

Sitka,  Alaska    ........ 

T'linket  Basket  Work 

T'linket  Carved  Spoons      ... 

T'linket  War  Canoe 

Yellowstone  River,  National  Park        .... 


Pass 

•  76 

64 

73 
79 

i'rontispiece 

9 
"7 
40 

45 
3» 
19 
36 

4a 
16 

87 
57 
70 
66 

83 
8t 

23 


i-«) 


Paub 
76 

64 
73 
79 
ispiece 

9 
97 
40 

45 
31 
19 
36 
43 
I6 

S7 
57 
70 
66 
83 
81 
23 


From  the  Great  Lakes  to  Puget  Sound. 


"To  the  doorwayi  of  the  Wesl-Wind, 
To  (he  portalf  of  the  Sunist." 


jHILE,  in  the  old  world,  armies  have  been  contending 
for  the  possession  of  narrow  strips  of  territory, 
in  kingdoms  themselves  smaller  than  many  single 
American  States,  and  venerable  sttrafUs  have  been 
predicting  the  near  approach  of  the  time  when  the 
population  of  the  world  shall  have  out-tripped  the 
means  of  subsistence,  there  has  arisen,  biUw*!en  the 
headwaters  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  mouth  of  the 
stately  Columbia,  an  imperial  domain,  more  than  three 
times  the  size  of  the  German  empire,  and  capable  of  sus- 
taining upon  its  own  soil  one  hundred  millions  of  people. 
What  little  has  been  done — for  it  is  but  little,  comparatively — 
toward  the  development  of  its  amazing  resources,  has  called  into 
■existence,  on  its  eastern  border,  two  great  and  beautiful  cities,  which  have 
sprung  up  side  by  side  on  the  banks  of  the  great  Father  of  Waters. 

It  is  there,  at  St.  I'aul  and  Minneapolis,  that  the  traveler's  journey  to  Won- 
derland may  be  said  to  begin.  And  what  could  be  more  fitting  ?  for  are  they 
not  wonders  in  themselves,  presenting,  as  they  do,  the  most  astonishing  picture 
of  rapid  e.xpansion  the  world  has  ever  seen  ? 

Hut  it  is  not  their  magnitude  that  excites  the  greatest  surprise.  If  there  is 
a  single  newspaper  reader  in  ignorance  of  the  fact  that  the  State  census  of 
1886  found  them  with  a  population  of  240,597;  or  that  the  31,994  buildings 
erected  within  their  limits  since  the  beginning  of  1882,  represent  a  frontage  of 
over  100  miles  and  an  expenditure  of  $90,895,390  or  that  their  banking  capital 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


considerably  exceeds  that  of  either  San  Francisco,  New  Orleans,  Cincinnati 
or  St.  Louis,  it  is  through  no  fault  of  the  cities  themselves.  Vtw"  the  visitor 
may  bring  with  him  a  just  appreciation  of  their  size  and  commercial  importance, 
and  yet  have  had  no  conception  of  their  beauty,  nor  of  the  abountling  evidences 
of  public  spirit  and  private  enterprise  that  will  con.ront  him  at  every  turn. 
.  The  position  of  St.  Paul,  at  the  head  of  navigation,  and  as  the  focus  of  the 
railway  activity  of  the  Northvest,  commands  for  it  an  extensive  wholesale  trade, 
its  sales  aggregating,  in  1886,  the  large  sum  of  |lioo,ooo,ooo.  The  surprise  with 
which  the  visitor  views  the  stately  piles  that  are  the  outward  and  visible  signs 
of  the  vast  commercial  and  unancial  interests  of  the  city,  the  creation  of  a  few 
brief  seasons,  is  no  greater  than  the  astonisnment  with  which  he  realizes  the 
absence  of  all  appearance  of  immaturity.  In  no  city  in  the  I'nion  are  the  busi- 
ness quarters  more  solid  and  substantial ;  in  none  is  the  domestic  architecture 
more  attractive.     Nothing  is  crude,  nothing  tentative,  nothing  transitional. 

Clustered  around  the  great  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  stand  those  colossal  flour- 
ing mills  that  have  been  more  than  ever  the  pride  and  glory  of  Miniitapolis, 
since  they  enabled  her  to  pluck  from  Chicago's  crown  one  of  the  brightest  of 
its  jewe's.  It  is  a  startling  commentary  upon  the  much  vaunted  supremacy  of 
the  great  metropolis  of  the  West,  that,  while  the  wheat  attracted  to  its  market 
fell  gradually  from  34,106,109  bushels  in  1879,  to  16,000,000  bushels  in  1886, 
the  amount  handled  by  the  millers  of  Minneapolis  increased,  within  the  same 
period,  from  7,514,364  bushels  to  33,394,450  bushels.  The  mills  have  a  total 
flour-manufacturing  capacity  of  33,973  barrels  per  day,  an  amount  equal  to  the 
necessities  of  the  three  most  populous  States  of  the  Union,  or  of  one-half  the 
population  of  Great  Britain. 

But  to  turn  from  the  romance  of  figures  to  that  of  song  and  .story. 
Should  the  traveler  have  any  desire  to  visit  the  far-famed  falls  of  Minnehaha, 
it  is  now  he  should  gratify  it.  Situated  almost  midway  between  the  two  cities, 
they  can  be  easily  reached,  either  by  train,  carriage  or  river  steamboat.  The 
poetic  interest  with  which  they  have  been  mvested  by  their  association  with 
the  legend  of  Hiawatha  constitutes  but  the  least  of  their  claims  upon  the 
traveler's  notice  ;  iind,  should  he  turn  aside  to  visit  them,  not  even  the  sub- 
lime scenery  of  V'c  nderland  will  entirely  efface  the  memory  of  their  laughing 
waters. 

The  residents  of  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis  are  fortunate  in  having,  within 
easy  access,  two  of  the  most  beautiful  of  Minnesota's  ten  thousand  lakes. 
White  Bear  and  Minnetonka.  Justly  celebrated  for  the  beauty  of  their  scenery 
and  the  excellence  of  their  hotel  and  other  accommodations,  they  are  resorted 
to  annually  by  thousands  of  visitors  from  far  and  near.  Minnetonka  is  not 
inappropriately  called  the  Saratoga  of  the  Northwest ;  but  no  designation,  how- 
ever high-sounding  or  significant,  can  do  justice  to  the  exquisite  beauty  of  its 
scenery  or  the  sumptuousness  of  its  hotels. 

It  is  time,  however,  that  we  were  directing  our  steps  toward  that  scarcely 
less  luxurious  hotel  which  is  waiting  to  convey  us  to  the  fir-clad  slojjes  of 


iiiati 
isitor 
line, 
■nres 

the 
ade, 
with 

iyns 

(fW 

the 
tisi- 
•ture 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND  1 

Puget  Sound  !  While  holding  in  hf)n()rable  remembrance  the  names  ot  Watt 
and  Stephenson,  surely  posterity  ought  not  altogether  to  forget  those  of  the 
inventors  of  the  sleeping  car  and  dinin;;  car  ;  for  the  railway  train  of  early 
days  was  hardly  a  greater  advance  vpf^M  the  old  stage-coach  than  is  the  com- 
pletely eijuipped  train  of  to-day  ovci  its  predecessor  of  even  tv.cnty-five 
years  ago. 

'I"he  journey  from  St.  Paul  *  >  Fug':*t  Sound  may  he  said  to  fall  into  right 
geographical  divisions,  with  we!  .larked  natural  boundaries,  and  corresponding 
in  the  main  to  the  divisions  into  whi(  .<  the  line  has  been  formed  for  oper- 
ating purposes.  The  first  extends  t'  tlie  Reel  River  of  the  North,  a  distance 
of  275  miles,  lying  wholly  in  the  State  of  Minnesota. 

The  great  attractions  of  this  State  irf  its  pine  forest.s,  covering  nearly  one- 
half  of  its  entire  area,  and  its  numerous  beautiful  lakes.  Of  the  latter,  there 
are  no  fewer  than  215  within  twenty-five  miles  of  St.  Paul,  and  they  e.xtend 
right  through  the  central  part  of  the  State,  on  both  sides  of  the  railroad,  to 
the  prairie  region  bordering  upon  the  Red  River.  Many  of  them  are  of 
exceeding  beauty,  especially  in  the  district  known  as  the 

LAKE  PARK  REGION, 

a  richly  diversified  section  of  country,  presenting  the  most  charming  scenery. 

Among  the  most  famous,  are  Lake  Minnewaska,  on  the  Little  Falls  and 
Dakota  division  of  the  road,  fifty-nine  miles  from  its  junction  with  the  main 
line  ;  Clitheral  and  Battle  Lakes,  on  the  Fergus  Falls  and  Black  Hills  branch  ; 
and  Detroit  Lake,  on  the  direct  line  to  the  West,  230  miles  from  St.  Paul.  .Ml 
these  have  fine  pebbly  beaches,  lined  with  beautiful  borders  of  timber,  and 
their  accommodations  for  all  classes  of  visitors — anglers,  sportsmen  and 
families — are  exceptionally  good. 

Like  all  the  waters  of  Minnesota,  they  teem  with  fine,  gamey  fish  of  many 
varieties.  The  accomplished  editor  of  the  Ameriiait  Angler,  writing  in  his 
well-known  journal,  after  a  visit  to  the  Northwest  in  the  summer  of  1885, 
stated,  that,  during  a  life  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  as  an  angler,  no  experi- 
ence with  a  rod  had  equaled  in  variety  and  weignt  the  two  days'  fishing  he  had 
had  on  Detroit  Lake.  Nor  was  Mr.  Harris'  success  exceptional.  A  score  of 
one  hundred  pounds  per  day  on  two  rods,  is,  as  he  goes  on  to  state,  considered 
quite  a  modest  record. 

For  what  is  locally  regarded  as  a  good  catc!i.  we  must  turn  to  that  of  the 
three  gentlemen  who,  on  the  afternoon  of  June  ist,  1885,  brought  in,  as  the 
result  of  less  than  three  days'  work,  603  pike,  138  black  bass,  178  rock  bass,  28 
cat-fish  and  25  picl.erel;  the  entire  catch  weighing  2,321  pounds.  This  "fish 
story  "  is  well  authenticated.  Eastern  anglers  can  have  no  conception  how  full 
of  fine  fish,  of  .nany  varieties,  these  Minnesota  lakes  are.  For  black  and  rock 
bass,  mascalonge,  pickerel,  wall-eyed  pike,  and  an  infinite  variety  of  smaller 
fish,  a  recent  writer  in  the  American  Angler  pronounces  Detroit  Lake  the  finest 


ms^ 


8 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


fishing  ground  on  the  continent.  Nor  need  any  angler  or  sportsman — for  prairie 
chickens,  ducks  and  deer  are  abundant — expect  to  have  to  look  to  sport  to 
make  up  for  the  deficiencies  of  accommodation;  for  the  Hotel  Minnesota  is  said, 
on  the  highest  authority,  to  be  a  gem  of  a  hostelry  for  anglers,  every  facility 
and  convenience  they  could  wish  for  being  obtainable  at  moderate  charges. 

The  scenic  attractions,  also,  are  of  a  high  order,  the  natural  features  of  the 
j^UiTounding  country  being  of  the  most  diversified  character.  The  air  is  pure 
and  invigorating,  and  hay  fever  and  malarial  diseases  are  absolutely  unknown. 

Lake  Park  is  another  delightful  resort  in  this  region,  having  good  fishing 
and  boating  within  easy  distance,  and  a  first-class  hotel  adjoining  the  depot. 

Before  arriving  at  Detroit,  the  traveler  from  St.  Paul  passes  through 
Brainerd,  the  "City  of  the  Pines."  The  selection  of  this  city  for  the  location 
of  the  machine  shops  of  the  railroad  has  given  a  great  impetus  to  its  growth  ; 
nevertheless,  for  deer  and  bear  hunting,  it  is  still  one  of  the  best  localities  in 
the  State.  There  is  fine  fishing,  too,  in  its  immediate  vicinity,  and  its  hotel 
accommodations  also  are  very  good.  Here  it  is,  also,  that  travelers  from  the 
East,  coming  by  way  of  the  Great  Lakes,  join  the  west-bound  train. 

The  distance  to  Brainerd  from  Duluth,  the  point  of  debarkation,  at  the  west 
end  of  Lake  Superior,  is  1 14  miles. 

The  traveler,  who,  in  1887,  visits  Mr.  Proctor  Knott's  "Zenith  City  of  the 
Unsalted  Sea,"  will  find  the  straggling  village  of  five  years  ago  a  busy  city  of 
30,000  inhabitants,  with  abounding  evidences  of  the  commercial  importance  it 
has  attained.  By  reason  of  the  advantages  afforded  by  the  great  waterway  of  the 
continent,  for  the  direct  shipment  of  wheat  to  the  Eastern  States  or  to  Europe, 
Duluth  has  become  almost  as  formidable  a  rival  of  Minneapolis  as  that  city  is 
of  Chicago.  It  handled  last  year  no  fewer  than  22,425,730  bushels  of  wheat, 
while  its  saw  mills  cut  up  160,000,000  feet  of  lumber,  and  an  extensive  trade 
was  also  carried  on  in  coal,  salt  and  lime. 

A  few  miles  distant,  and  connected  with  them  by  a  railway  whose  construc- 
tion involved  the  building  of  an  exceedingly  fine  iron  bridge,  are  the  cities  of 
Superior  and  West  Superior,  also  with  excellent  termmal  facilities.  The  east- 
ern terminus  of  this,  the  Wisconsin  division  of  the  railroad,  is  Ashland,  an 
important  town  and  favorite  summer  resort  on  Lake  Superior.  Midway 
between  this  town  and  Duluth  the  line  crosses  the  Brule  river,  whose  excellent 
fishing  grounds  its  recent  opening  has,  for  the  first  time,  rendered  accessible. 

The  Brule  river  proper  is  a  large  stream,  averaging  100  feet  in  width,  of 
clear,  cold  water,  flowing,  its  entire  length,  through  one  of  the  great  forests  of 
Wisconsin.  With  high  banks,  and  free  from  low  or  marshy  ground,  it  is  an 
ideal  trout  stream.  The  best  fishing  on  the  river  is  to  be  had  in  a  stretch  of 
fourteen  miles,  extending  six  miles  above,  and  eight  miles  below,  the  crossing  of 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad.  The  trout  attain  a  large  size,  catches  of  three 
and  four  pound  fish  being  an  everyday  occurrence.  In  the  surrounding  forest, 
game,  including  moose,  deer,  beaver  and  pheasant,  is  found  in  great  abundance. 
Large  quantities  of  venison  were  shipped  hence  by  rail  during  the  winter  of 


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10 


I H ROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


1886,  the  shipments  from  November  ist  to  December  15th  alone  exceeding 
13,000  pounds. 

Almost  equal  to  the  exciting  pleasures  of  the  chase  is  that  of  shooting  the 
Brule  river  rapids  in  a  canoe.  Accompanied  by  an  experienced  guide,  the 
visitor  performs  this  feat  without  danger ;  let  him  attempt  it  alone,  and  he  is 
sure  of  a  ducking.  For  the  angler  and  sportsman,  the  Brule  possesses  an  addi- 
tional attraction  in  the  fact,  that,  while  most  excellent  accommodations  are  to  be 
had  at  the  railroad  crossing,  including  boats,  fishing  tackle  and  guides,  there  is 
no  settlement  of  any  kind  within  a  considerable  distance. 

The  line  from  Duluth  to  Brainerd  follows,  for  many  miles,  the  winding  valley 
of  the  St.  Louis  river,  through  scenery  for  the  most  part  stern  and  wild,  yet  not 
without  an  occasional  suggestion  of  the  gentler  beauty  of  the  far-off  You- 
ghiogheny.  Between  Fond  du  Lac  and  Thompson  the  river  has  a  descent  of 
500  feet  in  a  distance  of  twelve  miles,  tearing  its  way  with  terrific  force  through 
a  tortuous,  rock-bound  channel.  The  best  point  for  observing  the  fine  effect 
of  these  impetuous  rapids  and  cascades,  known  locally  as  the  Dalles  of  the 
St.  Louis,  is  near  the  twentieth  mile  post  westward  from  Duluth. 

Pursuing  its  way  in  the  direction  of  Brainerd,  the  train  traverses  a  country 
comparatively  little  known.  Its  scanty  population  is  engaged  almost  entirely 
in  logging,  lumber  manufacturing,  and  hunting,  the  immense  forest  covering 
the  face  of  the  country  abounding  with  deer,  bear,  wolves,  foxes  and  other 
game. 

Emerging  from  the  deep  recesses  of  the  forest,  and  passing  swiftly  through 
the  lake  region  already  referred  to,  we  find  ourselves  in  a  level  prairie  country, 
and  can  dimly  descry,  in  the  far  distance,  the  thin,  dark  line  which  another  hour's 
ride  will  show  to  be  the  narrow  fringe  of  timber  that  marks  the  course  of 
the  famous  Red  River  of  the  North,  that  true  Arimaspes,  with  whose  golden 
sands  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  have  been  made  rich. 

This,  then,  is  the  renowned  Red  River  valley,  the  story  of  whose  amazing 
fertility  has  attracted,  from  older  States  and  still  older  countries,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  people.  The  greatest  influx  has  taken  place  since  1880,  the 
increase  in  population  between  the  census  of  that  year  and  that  in  the  spring  of 
1886  being  38,719  on  the  Minnesota  side  of  the  river,  and  54,918  on  the  Dakota 
side. 

.\lthouglV  there  are  vast  tracts  of  land  still  uncultivated,  the  general  appear- 
ance of  the  valley  is  that  of  a  well-.settled  agricultural  country.  But  this  will 
occasion  no  surprise  to  those  who  remember  that  its  annual  wheat  crop  has 
now  reached  25,000,000  bushels,  and  its  crop  of  other  cereals  15,000,000  Inisiiels. 

Not  a  little  surprise,  however,  is  occasioned  by  the  discovery  that  the 
"valley"  of  which  the  traveler  has  heard  so  much  is  not  a  valley  at  all,  but  a 
great  plain,  whose  slope  toward  the  river  is  so  slight  as  to  be  wholly  imper- 
ceptible. 

Where  the  railroad  crosses  the  river,  have  sprung  up  the  cities  of  Moorhead 
and  Fargo,  the  former  in  Minnesota,  the  latter  in  Dakota.     With  such  advan- 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


11 


ing 

the 

the 

e  is 

di- 

he 

re  is 


tages  of  situation  as  they  possess,  and  with  the  days  of  booms,  with  all  their 
unhealthy  excitement  and  fictitious  values,  gone,  never,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  to 
return,  these  cities  must  continue  to  increase  in  commercial  importance,  with 
the  development  of  the  rich  country  surrounding  them, 

Fargo  is,  indeed,  the  largest  city  in  the  entire  Territory  of  Dakota,  and  will 
probably  retain  its  position  as  such  for  many  years  to  come. 

It  is  needless  to  repeat  here  the  oft-told  story  of  Dakota's  marvelous 
growth.  Time  was  when  it  was  capable  of  being  wrought  up  into  a  mosaic  of 
wondrous  interest  and  beauty;  but,  with  the  multiplicaticr.  of  agencies  for  giving 
it  publicity,  its  charm,  for  the  present  generation  at  least,  has  passed  away.  It 
will,  nevertheless,  afford  the  historian  of  the  nineteenth  century  material  for  one 
of  the  most  interesting  and  instructive  chapters  of  his  work. 

Writing,  in  1828,  his  "  Principles  of  Popu  Mon,"  the  great  historian  of 
Europe  said:  "The  gradual  and  continuous  progress  of  x^&  European  race 
toward  the  Rocky  Mountains  has  the  solemnity  of  a  providential  event:  it  is 
like  a  deluge  of  men  rising  unabatedly,  and  daily  driven  onward  by  the  hand  of 
God."  But  at  that  time  the  State  of  Illinois,  but  half  way  toward  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  one-third  of  the  way  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  was  almost  the  limit 
of  its  mighty  flow.  Wisconsin,  with  no  noteworthy  settlements  of  its  own, 
formed  part  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan  ;  Iowa  was  an  altogether  vacant 
region,  without  any  form  of  organized  government ;  while  other  great  States  of 
to-day  were  still  either  mere  parts  of  the  Louisiana  purchase,  with  as  yet  no 
separate  identity,  or  were  comprised  within  the  then  far-extending  territory  of 
the  republic  of  Mexico. 

The  traveler  to  the  Northwest,  by  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  traverses 
that  section  of  the  far-extending  dominion  of  the  American  people  that  was 
the  last  to  be  overspread  l  7  that  great  tide  of  civilization.  He  sees  its  evi- 
dences in  the  happy  and  prosperous  homesteads  that  dot  the  fertile  plains  of 
Dakota,  and  nestle  under  the  sheltering  bluffs  of  the  winding  valleys  of  Mon- 
tana; he  is  able  to  bear  witness,  also,  to  its  having  penetrated  the  fastnesses  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  converted  the  hillsides  of  Eastern  Washington  and 
the  fair  lands  of  Oregon  into  smiling  wheat  fields  and  fruitful  orchards. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  hundreds  of  flourishing  settlements  scattered  along 
the  great  highway  of  travel,  with  here  and  there  a  goodly  town  or  city,  he  can 
not  but  wonder  at  the  apparent  sparseness  of  population  when  he  remembers 
that  one  and  a  half  millions  of  people  have  their  homes  between  the  Great  Lakes 
and  Puget  Sound. 

But  let  him  consider  the  vast  extent  of  the  country  ;  let  him  call  to  mind 
that  Dakota,  with  her  500,000  inhabitants,  has  yet  230  acres  of  land  to  every 
man,  woman  and  child  within  her  borders,  her  population  f.veraging  less  than 
three  to  the  square  mile  ;  that  the  density  of  population  in  Oregon  and  Wash- 
ington is  but  two  and  one-half  and  two  to  the  square  mile,  respectively;  while 
both  Montana  and  Idaho  have  considerably  more  square  miles  than  they  have 
inhabitants. 


■wpwpiww 


12 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


The  county  of  Cass,  which  stretches  westward  from  Fargo,  is  one  of  the 
best  settled  sections  of  the  Northwest,  there  being  no  land  whatever  subject  to 
entry.  It  contains  some  of  the  largest  wheat  farms  in  the  world,  and  it  has 
produced  more  than  one  wheat  crop  of  5,000,000  bushels.  This  county  has  an 
actual  wealth  of  over  $20,000,000,  and,  with  its  120  school  houses  and  number- 
less churches,  it  may  be  taken  as  admirably  illustrating  both  the  capabilities  of 
the  country  and  the  character  of  the  people  who  are  building  it  up. 

At  Dalrymple,  eighteen  miles  from  Fargo,  and  at  Casselton,  two  miles 
farther  west,  are  the 

GREAT  WHEAT  FARMS 

of  Mr.  Oliver  Dalrymple,  '  omprising  some  50,000  acres.  Continuing  west- 
ward, we  pass,  in  rapid  sucv;ession,  various  flourishing  settlements,  among  them 
being  Valley  City,  on  the  Sheyenne  river,  the  judicial  seat  of  Barnes  county. 

Presently  the  train  descends  into  the  valley  of  the  James,  or  Dakota,  river, 
and  the  prosperous  city  of  Jamestown  is  reached. 

From  this  point  a  branch  line  extends  northward,  ninety  miles,  to  Minne- 
waukan,  at  the  west  end  of  Devil's  Lake.  This  remarkable  body  of  salt  water, 
with  its  deeply  indented  and  richly  wooded  shores,  where  the  briny  odor  of  the 
ocean  mingles  with  the  fragrance  of  the  prairie  flower,  is  surrounded  by  some 
of  the  best  farming  lands  in  Dakota.  Its  attractions  for  the  tourist,  cngler  and 
sportsman  have  obtained  wide  recognition,  fish  and  game  being  very  plentiful, 
the  climate  highly  salubrious,  the  scenery  picturesque,  and  the  hotel  accommo- 
dations good.  The  James  river  is  said  to  be  the  longest  unnavigable  river  on 
the  continent,  if  not  in  the  world,  its  flow,  for  hundreds  of  ,niles,  being  distin- 
guished by  scarcely  any  perceptible  increase  of  volume. 

Crossing  a  high  table  land,  1,850  feet  above  sea-level,  and  950  feet  higher 
than  the  Red  river  at  Fargo,  and  known  geographically  as  the  Coteaux  de 
Missouri,  the  train  rapidly  pursues  its  way  past  various  large  and  well-managed 
farms  to  Bismarck,  the  capital  of  the  Territory. 

This  city  has  long  commanded  an  important  trade  with  various  settlertients 
on  the  Upper  Missouri,  the  steamboats  employed  having  transported  as  much  as 
45,000,000  pounds  of  freight  within  a  single  brief  period  of  navigation.  It  is 
the  shipping  and  distributing  point  of  a  vast  area  whose  only  railroad  facilities 
are  those  afforded  by  the  great  transcontinental  line  that  here  crosses  the 
Missouri  river.  With  the  various  important  settlements  that  have  been  estab- 
lished in  that  great  tract  of  country,  Bismarck  has  either  stage  or  steamboat 
communication.  While,  however,  river  navigation  is  limited  to  a  comparatively 
short  season,  the  stages  run  regularly  all  the  year  round,  liaving  even  been 
known  not  to  miss  a  single  trip,  or  to  be  more  than  a  few  hours  late,  during 
an  entire  winter. 

But  it  is  not  the  Fargos,  the  Jamestown*  or  the  Bismarcks  with  which  the 
tourist  chiefly  concerns  himself.  They  attract  his  attention  only  because  of 
the  evidence  they  afford  of  the  development  and  stability  of  the  country,  and 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


18. 


the 
ft  to 

has 
IS  an 
Iber- 
ts  of 

liles 


the  enterprise  of  the  people,  and  he  is  far  more  interested  in  the  crossing  of  the 
Missouri  river,  than  in  either  of  the  two  cities  that  frown  at  each  other  across 
its  turbid  waters. 

The  bridge,  by  which  the  railroad  is  carried  across  the  great  river,  here 
2,800  feet  in  breadth,  although  3,500  miles  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  is  a 
structure  of  immense  strength,  and  not  more  substantial  than  it  is  graceful.  It 
consists  of  three  spans,  each  of  400  feet,  and  two  approach  spans,  each  of  113 
feet,  with  a  long  stretch  of  strongly  built  trestle  work  over  the  gently  sloping 
west  bank  of  the  river. 

Here  the  train  runs  into  Mandan,  a  pleasant  little  city,  nestling  under  low 
ranges  of  hills  which  encompass  it  on  three  sides.  This  is  the  terminus  of  the 
Missouri  and  Dakota  divisions  of  the  road.  The  change  from  Central  to  Mount- 
ain time  is  made  at  this  point,  and  the  west-bound  traveler  sets  his  watch  back 
one  hour. 

The  country  west  of  the  Missouri  river  presents  an  entirely  different 
appearance  from  that  through  which  the  tourist  has  been  traveling  since  he 
entered  the  Territory  at  Fargo.  It  is  more  diversified  ;  its  numerous  streams, 
with  handsome  groves  of  cottonwood  upon  their  banks,  meandering  through 
pleasant  valleys,  clothed,  where  still  uncultivated,  with  that  nutritious  bunch 
grass,  which,  but  a  few  short  years  ago,  made  them  the  favorite  feeding  grounds 
of  the  buffalo.  The  vast  beds  of  lignite  coal  that  underlie  this  portion  of  the 
Territory  crop  out  at  various  points,  twelve  car  loads  being  mined  daily  at  Sims, 
35  miles  west  of  Mandan,  for  shipment  by  rail.  The  most  important  settle- 
ments on  this  division  of  the  road  are  Gladstone  and  Dickinson. 

'"'wenty  miles  west  of  the  latter  town,  the  line  enters  the  singular  and  pic- 
turesque region  known  as  the  Bad  Lands  of  the  Little  Missouri.  For  a  full 
hour  the  train  pursues  its  way  through  scenery  of  which  the  whole  world  is  not 
known  to  afford  any  counterpart. 

The  product  of  natural  forces,  still  working  to  the  same  end,  the  picture 
that  meets  the  astonished  gaze  of  the  traveler,  suggests,  where  it  does  not 
utterly  bewilder,  either  supernatural  agency  or  the  operation  of  laws  whose  reign 
has  ceased.  Reasonable  hypotheses  all  failing,  ore's  imagination  connects  the 
weird  and  mysterious  scene  with  some  early  geologic  epoch  when,  perchance 
under  the  brooding  darkness  of  night,  the  yet  plastic  earth  was  tortured  by 
some  wild  spirit  of  Caprice  into  the  fantastic  forms  in  which  we  see  it  to-day. 
But  evidences  of  intelligent  design  are  not  altogether  wanting,  and  we  turn 
from  mounds  of  wonderful  regularity  and  symmetry  of  form,  standing  like 
Egyptian  pyramids,  to  reproductions  of  the  frowning  battlements  'if  Gibraltar 
or  Ehrenbreitstein,  or  the  dome  and  towers  of  some  great  cathedral. 

Marvelous  as  they  are,  however,  these  forms  and  outlines  excite  even  less 
astonishment  than  the  wealth  of  coloring  in  which  they  are  arrayed.  Composed 
largely  of  clay,  solidified  by  pressure,  and  converted  into  terra-cotta  by  the 
slow  combustion  of  underlying  masses  of  lignite,  each  dome  and  pyramid  and 
mimic  castle  is  encircled  with  chromatic  bands  presenting  vivid  and  startling 


T== 


u 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


contrasts.  Huge  petrifactions  and  vast  masses  of  sc.-ria  contribute  to  the 
weirdness  of  th»e  scene,  and,  as  .f  to  complete  its  plutc  »ic  r.ppearance,  smoke 
goes  up  unceasingly  from  unquenchable  subterranean  fiies. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  these  lands  are  worthless  for  agricultural  or 
stock-ra'sing  purposes.  The  valleys  and  ravines  are  covered  with  nutritious 
grasses,  and  thousands  of  cattle  may  be  seen  grazing  where  the  buffalo  and 
other  herbivorous  wild  animals  were  wont  to  roam  in  days  gone  by.  The  term 
"  Bad  Lands  "  is  a  careless  and  incomplete  translation  of  the  designation  bestowed 
upon  the  country  by  the  early  French  voyageurs,  who  described  it  as  "  mauvaises 
ter res  pour  traverser." 

From  this  point,  Medora,  excursions  may  be  made  to  Cedar  Canon,  one  of 
the  most  interesting  localities  in  the  Bad  Lands;  or  to  the  burning  mine,  where 
may  be  seen,  raging,  perhaps  the  most  extensive  of  the  subterranean  fires  of  the 
entire  region.  It  is  also  a  good  point  from  which  to  start  out  on  hunting 
expeditions,  large  game  being  by  no  means  exterminated. 

Sixteen  miles  beyond  the  Little  Missouri,  the  train  passes  Sentinel  Butte,  a 
lofty  peak  rising  precipitously  from  the  plain  on  the  south  side  of  the  railroad. 
One  mile  more  and  the  Montana  boundary  is  crossed,  at  an  elevation  of  2,840 
feet  above  sea-level. 

In  crossing  the  great  Territory  of  Dakota,  the  tourist  has  traveled  367  miles ; 
in  traversing  that  of  Montana,  he  performs  a  journey  of  no  less  than  800  miles, 
almost  equivalent  to  the  distance  from  New  York  to  Indianapolis.  Fortunately, 
the  luxurious  appointments  of  the  train  render  weariness  well  nigh  impossible, 
and  the  trip  hourly  becomes  more  interesting  and  enjoyable. 

At  Glendive,  692  miles  from  St.  Paul,  the  road  enters  the  valley  of  the 
Yellowstone,  the  windings  of  which  famous  river  it  follows,  more  or  less  closely, 
for  340  miles. 

The  valley,  from  five  to  ten  miles  in  width,  is  inclosed  by  high  bluffs  of  clay 
and  sandstone,  their  curious  formations  occasionally  reminding  the  traveler  of 
the  Bad  Lands,  though  they  have  but  little  variety  of  color. 

If  the  Red  River  of  the  North  may  justly  be  regarded  as  the  true  Arimaspes, 
the  Yellowstone  may,  with  equal  propriety,  be  designated  the  modern  Amphry- 
sus.  It  is  upon  its  banks  and  those  of  its  tributaries  that  there  has  been 
developed,  since  the  opening  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  that  vast  graz- 
ing interest  which  has  given  Montana  as  great  a  reputation  for  its  stock  as 
Dakota  has  for  its  wheat. 

For  many  years, — up  to  and  including  the  winter  of  1881-82, — this  was  the 
finest  buffalo  hunting  country  on  the  continent.  But  the  slaughter  that  season 
was  enormous,  250,000  hides  being  shipped  East,  principally  from  Miles  City. 
Few  have  been  seen  since  that  time.  There  are  hunters  who  believe  that  small 
herds  might  still  be  found  north  of  the  international  boundary;  but,  so  far  as  the 


THROUGH   WONDERLAND. 


15 


the 
oke 


United  States  is  concerned,  the  buffalo  is  practically  extinct.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  small  herd  in  the  National  Park.  Safe  from  the  hunter's  deadly  re- 
peater, they  will  probably  multiply  rapidly,  as  it  may  be  supposed  that  they  will 
soon  know  instinctively  the  limits  within  which  they  are  unmolested. 

Miles  City,  a  few  years  ago  the  principal  rendezvous  of  the  hunter,  is  now 
the  great  resort  of  the  grazier  and  cowboy,  it  being  the  metropolis  of  the  stock 
interest  of  the  Territory. 

The  development  of  this  interest  within  recent  years  has  been  as  rapid  as 
that  of  wheat  raising  in  Dakota,  and  the  economist  who  should  turn  to  the 
United  States  census  reports  for  1880  for  the  present  condition  of  any  consid- 
erable section  of  the  Northwest  would  be  led  seriously  astray. 

In  1880,  Montana  contained  490,000  cattle  and  520,000  she6p.  According 
to  a  recent  report  of  the  Governor  of  the  Territory,  it  contains,  at  the  present 
time,  900,000  cattle,  1,200,000  sheep,  and  120,000  horses.  The  grazing  interests 
of  the  West  are  moving  steadily  toward  Eastern  Montana  ;  for,  so  rapidly  do 
cattle  thrive  on  the  nutritious  grasses  of  these  northern  valleys,  that  a  yearling 
steer  is  worth  %\o  more  in  Montana  than  in  Texas. 

Glendive,  already  mentioned  as  the  point  at  which  the  railroad  enters  the 
Yellowstone  valley,  is  second  only  to  Miles  City  in  importance  as  a  shipping 
and  distributing  point.     It  is  also  a  divisional  terminus  of  the  railroad. 

Two  miles  west  of  Miles  City  is  Fort  Keogh,  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
beautiful  military  posts  in  the  United  States.  It  was  established  in  1877  by 
Gen.  Nelson  A.  Miles,  as  a  means  of  holding  in  check  the  warlike  Sioux. 
There  are  but  few  Indians  to  be  seen  now  along  the  line  of  the  railroad,  and 
those  are  engaged  in  agricultural  and  industrial  pursuits.  The  extinction  of  the 
buffalo  has  rendered  the  Indian  much  more  amenable  to  the  civilizing  influ- 
ences brought  to  bear  upon  him  than  he  formerly  was,  and  very  fair  crops  of 
grain  are  now  being  raised  at  the  various  agencies.  At  the  Devil's  Lake 
Agency,  60,000  bushels  of  wheat  were  ra'sed  in  1885,  and  purchased  by  the 
United  States  Government  at  $1  per  hundred  pounds.  The  Crows,  along  the 
northern  'border  of  whose  reservation — nearly  as  large  as  the  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts— the  road  runs  for  two  hundred  miles,  are  said  to  be  the  richest 
nation  in  the  world,  in  proportion  to  their  numbers,  their  wealth  aggregating 
$3,500  per  head.  This,  however,  is  due  to  the  natural  increase  of  their  live 
stock,  chiefly  ponies,  rather  than  to  their  own  industry  and  thrift. 

Out  amid  the  solitudes  of  the  far  Northwest — for  it  must  not  be  supposed 
that  the  entire  country  is  a  succession  of  settlements — it  is  wonderful  with 
what  interest  the  traveler  regards  that  trivial  event  of  daily  occurrence,  the  meet- 
ing of  the  east-bound  train.  But,  as  he  peers  through  the  car  window,  or 
stands  out  on  the  platform,  in  critical  survey  of  its  passengers,  it  probably  does 
not  occur  to  him  that  he  is  as  much  an  object  of  curiosity  to  them  as  they  are, 
each  of  them,  to  him.  He  represents  the  far  East  of  this  great  continent,  they 
the  far  West.  He.  perchance,  is  making  his  first  trip  to  the  Pacific  slope,  they 
theirs  to  the  Great  Lakes  or  the  Atlantic  coast.     Among  them,  however,  may 


'it'K 


VIEWS  OF  "OLD  FAITHFUL"  GEYSER,  YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK. 

(10) 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


17 


P/1i- 


|^:tS 


be  distinguished  merry  groups  of  returning  tourists,  while,  reclining  in  a  luxu- 
rious Pullman  car,  or  tempting  dyspepsia  with  the  rich  and  varied  dainties  of 
the  dining  car,  may  be  seen  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  California,  a  weather- 
beaten  pioneer,  who  reached  the  Pacific  slope  by  way  of  the  Horn,  twenty  years 
ahead  of  the  first  transcontinental  railway,  and  now  goes  east,  by  the  Wonder- 
land route,  to  revisit  the  scenes  of  his  childhood. 

Twenty-nine  miles  east  of  Billings,  the  next  divisional  terminus  and  impor- 
tant trading  point  on  the  line  of  the  road,  the  traveler  will  observe,  rising  from 
the  right  bank  of  the  river,  a  huge  mass  of  sandstone,  interesting  as  bearing 
upon  its  face  the  name  of  William  Clarke,  cut  in  the  rock  by  the  veteran  explorer 
himself,  when  he  visited  the  locality  in  1806.  He  will,  about  the  same  time,  be 
able  dimly  to  descry  the  peaks  of  the  Big  Snow  Mountains,  which,  at  first 
scarcely  distinguishable  from  the  fleecy  clouds  that  hang  around  them,  subse- 
quently loom  up  grandly,  constituting  one  of  the  most  beautiful  pieces  of 
scenery  in  the  Northwest. 

The  disciple  of  Izaak  Walton  will  not  have  traveled  225  miles  along  the 
banks  of  the  Yellowstone  without  having  seen  many  an  inviting  spot  for  indul- 
gence in  what  his  great  master  called  the  most  calm,  quiet  and  innocent  of  all 
recreations.  His  arrival,  therefore,  at  Billings,  the  largest  town  on  the  upper 
river,  and  the  metropolis — notwithstanding  that  it  has  a  population  of  only 
2,000 — of  a  region  larger  than  Maine,  South  Carolina,  West  Virginia  or  Indi- 
ana, affords  a  not  unfitting  opportunity  for  a  brief  reference  to  the  incompara- 
ble trout  fishing  afforded  by  the  numerous  streams  accessible  from  points  on 
the  Montana  and  Yellowstone  divisions  of  the  road. 

The  Yellowstone  river  itself,  west  of  Billings,  has  no  superior  as  a  trout 
stream.  It  contains  trout  of  four  distinct  varieties,  and  fishing  is  so  easy  as 
at  times  to  be  in  danger  of  losing  its  charm.  The  individual  scores  of  various 
tourists,  reported  in  the  American  Angler  during  the  summer  and  fall  of  1886, 
and  not  containing  any  that  were  phenomenally  large,  averaged  twenty-five 
trout  per  hour  for  each  rod,  a  record  with  which  the  most  ardent  angler  ought 
surely  to  be  satisfied.  A  majority  of  these  scores  were  made  in  the  vicinity  of 
Livingston,  near  which  town  another  visitor  is  reported  to  have  caught  twenty- 
one  fine,  large  trout  "after  supper,"  while  two  others  are  stated  to  have 
brought  in  160  as  the  result  of  "a  day's  sport."  The  Yellowstone  also 
contains  a  gamey  fish  knowi^  to  local  anglers  as  grayling,  but  pronounced  by 
Mr.  W.  C.  Harris  to  be  the  whitefish  {Corregonus  tullibee).  That  gentleman 
refers,  in  a  recent  article,  to  the  abundance,  in  these  waters,  of  the  celebrated 
"  cut-throat "  trout,  whose  size  and  abundance,  in  conjunction  with  the 
picturesqueness  of  its  habitat,  will,  he  adds,  when  generally  known,  "  make  a 
visit  to  the  Yellowstone  imperative  to  the  angler  who  aspires  to  a  well-rounded 
life  as  a  rodster."  Among  other  waters,  mention  may  be  made  of  Rosebud 
Lake,  a  beautiful  spot  reached  by  wagon  from  Billings,  where  the  trout  fishing 
is  declared  to  be  splendid  ;  Little  Rosebud  Creek,  near  Stillwater,  where 
eighty-seven  trout  are  reported  to  have  been  caught  in  four  hours  with  a  single 


18 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


rod  ;  Prior  Creek,  near  Huntley  ;  Mission  Creeit,  twelve  miles  east  of  Liv- 
ingston; and  Sixteen-Mile  Creek,  sixteen  miles  from  Townsend,  all  of  which 
are  said  by  visitors  to  afford  excellent  sport. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  the  angler  enjoys  a  monopoly  of 
sport  in  this  country  of  varied  attractions;  for  grouse  and  ducks  are  plentiful, 
as  are  also,  on  the  mountain  ranges,  deer,  elk  and  antelope. 

Passing  Springdale,  where  the  traveler  will  observe  hacks  in  readiness  to 
convey  visitors  to  Hunter's  Hot  Springs,  two  and  one-half  miles  distant,  the 
train  approaches,  amid  scenery  increasing  in  grandeur,  the  little  city  of  Liv- 
ingston. Whatever  interest  may,  in  the  near  future,  attach  to  this  place  as  a 
resort  of  the  gentle  brotherhood  from  all  parts  of  the  continent,  it  will  cer- 
tainly fall  short  of  that  which  will  belong  to  ii  as  the  gateway  of  that  world- 
renowned  region,  the 

YELLOWSTONE    NATIONAL    PARK. 

"  Situated,"  to  quote  the  distinguished  geologist.  Professor  John  Muir,  of 
California,  who  recently  visited  it,  "in  the  heart  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  on  the 
broad,  rugged  summit  of  the  continent,  amid  snow  and  ice,  and  dark,  shaggy 
forests,  where  the  great  rivers  take  their  rise,  it  surpasses  in  wakeful,  exciting 
interest  any  other  region  yet  discovered  on  the  face  of  the  globe."  While  it 
contains  the  most  beautiful  and  sublime  of  mountain,  lake  and  forest  scenery,  its 
fame  rests,  not  upon  that,  but  upon  the  extraordinary  assemblage  of  the  curious 
products  of  Nature's  caprice,  and  the  infinitely  wonderful  manifestations  of  almost 
extinct  forms  of  her  energy  that  are  found  within  its  borders.  Approached 
by  a  branch  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  extending  southward  from  Liv- 
ingston to  its  northern  boundary,  and  the  only  railroad  within  one  hundred 
miles,  this  remarkable  region  has,  by  a  judicious  expenditure  of  public  money 
and  by  admirable  individual  and  corporate  enterprise,  been  rendered  so 
easy  of  exploration  that  the  tourist  may  within  the  brief  period  of  five  days 
visit  all  its  most  interesting  points. 

So  majestically  do  the  snow-capped  mountains  tower  above  the  lesser  hills 
that  inclose  the  charming  valley  whose  various  windings  the  railroad  follows, 
from  Livingston  to  Cinnabar,  that  the  traveler  can  scarcely  believe  that 
still  more  magnificent  scenery  lies  beyond.  And  truly  the  cloud-piercing 
Emigrant's  Peak,  with  its  famous  mining  gulch  ;  the  yet  loftier  Electric 
Peak;  the  colossal  Sphinx;  and  that  most  singular  formation,  the  Devil's  Slide, 
form  the  most  fitting  introduction  that  the  human  mind  can  conceive  to  the 
wonders  of  the  National  Park. 

Conveyed  by  an  excellently  equipped  Concord  coach  from  the  terminus  of 
the  railroad  to  the  hotel  at  Mammoth  Hot  Springs,  si.\  miles  distant,  the  tourist 
finds  himself  surrounded  by  all  the  conveniences  of  modern  hotel  life. 

And  within  full  view  of  the  hotel,  from  which  they  are  distant  but  a  few 
hundred  yards,  are  the  exquisitely  filigreeu  and  richly  colored  terraces  formed  by 
the  Mammoth  Hot  Springs,  not  the  least  of  the  wonders  of  this  famous  region. 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


19 


Here  one  hardly  knows  whether  to  admire  more  the  delicacy  of  the  formation  or 
that  of  the  coloring,  the  former  not  being  excelled  by  that  of  the  finest  lace, 
while  the  latter  surpasses,  both  in  brilliancy,  harmony,  and  subtle  gradations, 
any  chromatic  effects  known  to  exist  beyond  the  limits  of  this  enchanted 
ground. 

The  keenest  interest  of  the  newly  arrived  tourist,  however,  usually  centres 
in  those  constantly  recurring  evidences  of  tremendous  force,  the  geysers. 
With  few  and  unimportant  exceptions,  these  are  found  within  the  limits  of 
certain  distinctly  marked  areas,  known  as  the  upper,  middle,  lower  and  Norris 
basins,  'o  which  one  or  two  days'  time  is  devoted,  according  to  circumstances. 
The  mosL  celebrated  of  the  geysers — tho.se  with  whose  names  the  world  has 
been  made  familiar  by  the  pen,  brush  or  camera  of  author  or  artist — are  in  the 
upper  basin.  Here  are  found  the  Giant,  and  Giantess,  the  Castle  and  Grotto, 
the  Bee  Hive,  the  Splendid  and  the  Grand.  Here,  too,  is  Old  Faithful,  the  con- 
stancy of  whose  hourly  eruption  makes  it  impossible  for  even  the  most  hurried 


v.> 


,>'-^>~. 


illll"lll_*>  p 


MAMMOTH  HOT  SPRINGS  HOTEL— YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK. 

■visitor  to  the  upper  basin  to  leave  without  witnessing  at  least  one  display  of  its 
tremendous  energy. 

The  reader,  who,  not  having  visited  the  National  Park,  has  yet  gazed  into 
some  of  the  profound  gorges  to  be  found  in  the  great  mountain  ranges  of  the 
far  West,  will  read  with  astonishment,  if  not  with  incredulity,  that  there  is  but 
•one  canon  in  the  world, — the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Yellowstone.  Perhaps  slightly 
•exceeded  in  depth,  as  it  certainly  is  in  gloom,  it  is  yet  made  to  stand  pre- 
•eminent  among  the  natural  wonders  of  the  world  by  the  majesty  of  its  cataract 
and  the  gorgeous  blazonry  of  its  walls.  To  say  that  the  former — no  mere 
silver  ribbon  of  spray,  but  a  fall  of  great  volume — is  a  little  more  than  twice  the 
height  of  Niagara,  would,  by  means  of  a  familiar  comparison,  enable  almost 
any  one  to  form  a  not  altogether  inadequate  conception  of  its  grandeur.  But 
for  the  matchless  adornment  of  its  walls,  we  have  no  available  comparison  ; 
naught  but  itself  can  be  its  parallel.  One  great  writer  describes  it  as  being 
ihung  with   rainbows,  like   glorious   banners.     Another,   borrowing  from    Mr. 


20 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


Ruskin,  likens  it  to  a  great  cathedral,  with  painted  windows,  and  full  of  treas- 
ures of  illuminated  manuscript.  But,  as  we  take  our  stand  on  the  brink  of  the 
Falls,  with  twelve  miles  of  sculptured  rock  spread  out  before  us,  risint;  from 
1,500  to  2,000  feet  in  height,  and  all  aflame  with  glowing  color,  we  have  to 
acknowledge,  with  a  distinguished  writer  and  a  no  less  celebrated  artist,  that, 
neither  by  the  most  cunningly  wrought  fabric  of  language,  nor  the  most  skillful 
manipulation  of  color,  is  it  possible  to  create  in  the  mind  a  conception  answer- 
ing to  this  sublime  reality.  For  countless  ages,  frost  and  snow,  heat  and 
vapor,  lightning  and  rain,  torrent  and  glacier,  have  wrought  upon  that  myste- 
rious rock,  evolving  from  its  iron,  its  sulphur,  its  arsenic,  its  lime  and  its  lava, 
the  glorious  apparel  in  which  it  stands  arrayed.  And  the  wondrous  fabrication 
is  still  going  on.  The  bewildered  traveler  would  scarcely  be  surprised  to  see 
the  gorgeous  spectacle  fade  from  his  vision  like  a  dream  :  but  its  texture  is 
continually  being  renewed  :  the  giant  forces  are  ever  at  work  ;  still  do  they — . 

"  Sit  at  the  buiy  loom  of  time  and  ply. 
Weaving  for  God  the  garment  thou  seett  Him  by."  | 

For  the  minor  wonders  of  this  world  of  marvels,  the  formations  ut  geyserite 
and  the  petrified  forests,  Tower  and  Gibbon  Falls  and  the  cliffs  of  volcanic 
glass,  the  caldrons  of  boiling  mud  and  transparent  pools  of  sapphire  blue,  the 
reader  is  referred  to  special  guides  to  the  Park. 

It  only  remains  to  be  stated  that  there  is  regularly  established  transporta- 
tion daily  between  all  the  principal  points,  that  the  distances  are  not  fatiguing, 
that  the  charges  are  reasonable,  and  the  equipment  everything  that  could  be 
desired. 

The  angler  need  scarcely  be  reminded  that  this  is  the  far-famed  region 
where  the  juxtaposition  of  streams  of  hot  and  cold  water  enables  him  to  cook 
his  fish  as  fast  as  he  can  catch  them,  without  moving  from  his  seat  or  taking 
them  off  the  hook  ! 

WESTWARD    STILL. 


Resuming  his  westward  journey  at  Livingston,  the  traveler  finds  himself 
ascending  the  first  of  the  two  great  mountain  barriers  that  had  to  be  sur- 
mounted by  the  engineers  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad.  By  a  grade  of  116 
feet  to  the  mile,  the  line  reaches,  twelve  miles  from  Livingston,  an  elevation  of 
5,565  feet  above  sea-level.  Here  it  is  carried  under  the  crest  of  the  range  by  a 
tunnel  3,610  feet  in  length,  from  which  it  emerges  into  a  fine,  rocky  canon,  at 
the  western  portal  of  which  is  the  military  post  of  Fort  Ellis.  A  few  minutes 
more,  and  the  train  runs  into  Bozeman,  a  beautifully  situated  and  flourishing 
little  city  of  twenty  years'  growth.  Few  cities  can  boast  of  more  magnificent 
scenery,  majestic  snow-capped  ranges  standing  out  against  the  sky  on  every 
side. 

Westward  for  thirty  miles  extends  the  rich  and  fertile  Gallatin  valley.  It  is 
no  uncommon  thing  to  get  forty  bushels  of  hard  spring  wheat,  or  sixty  bushels 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


21 


of  fall  wheat,  to  the  acre  in  this  valley,  and  its  barley  is  of  such  superior 
excellence  as  to  be  in  great  demand  for  malting  purposes  at  Milwaukee  and 
other  Eastern  cities. 

Twenty-nine  miles  west  of  Bozeman,  are  Gallatin  City,  and  the  bright  little 
town  of  Three  Forks,  commanding  the  valleys  of  the  Madison  and  Jefferson, 
the  agricultural  lands  of  which,  now  being  brought  under  cultivation,  are  not 
inferior  to  those  of  the  older  settled  valley  jf  the  (lallatin. 

Four  miles  more,  and  the  tourist  comes  upon  a  point  of  considerable  geo- 
graphical interest,  the  three  mountain  streams  just  mentioned  pouring  their 
waters  into  a  common  channel,  to  form  ihe  Missouri  river.  It  is  through  a 
rocky  canon,  abounding  in  wild  and  magnificent  scenery,  that  the  greatest  river 
on  the  continent  enters  upon  its  long  course  of  4,450  miles.  For  nearly  fifty 
miles,  the  line  follows  its  vaiious  windings,  until  finally  the  river  runs  away 
northward  through  that  profound  chasm  known  as  the  (Irand  Cafion  of  the 
Missouri,  or  the  Gates  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Visitors  to  Helena  will  find 
an  excursion  to  the  Grand  Cafion,  occupying  not  necessarily  more  than  two 
days'  time,  one  of  the  most  delightful  experiences  of  their  transcontinental 
journey. 

The  most  important  town  between  Bozeman  and  Helena,  is  Townsend,  the 
shipping  and  distributing  point  for  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  one  of  the  best 
counties  in  Montana.  It  has  daily  communication  by  coach  with  White  Sul- 
phur Springs,  a  health  resort  of  great  local  repute.  This  coming  rival  of  older 
and  hitherto  more  famous  spas,  lies  in  a  beautiful  valley,  5,070  feet  above  sea- 
level,  and  surrounded  by  the  grandest  of  Rocky  Mountain  scenery.  Its  accom- 
modations for  visitors  of  all  classes  are  most  excellent,  including,  as  they  do, 
one  of  the  best  hotels  in  the  Territory.  Six  miles  distant  are  Castle  Mountain 
and  Crystal  Cave,  the  latter  a  cavern  of  great  extent,  having  twenty-three  sepa- 
rate chambers,  full  of  curious  and  beautiful  stalactitic  and  stalagmitic  forma- 
tions. The  town,  mountain  and  cavern  were  all  fully  described  and  admirably 
illustrated  in  the  West  Shore  Magazine  for  July,  1885. 

Not  so  much  by  way  of  tribute,  either  to  its  own  beauty  or  that  of  its  sit- 
uation, as  in  recognition  of  its  wealth,  its  commercial  importance  and  the  com- 
manding position  it  has  so  long  occupied  in  the  mining  world,  Helena,  the 
capital  of  the  Territory,  is  called  the  Queen  of  the  Mountains.  Situated  on  the 
eastern  slope  of  the  continental  divide,  1,155  niiles  from  St.  Paul,  it  became  a 
great  distributing  point  and  financial  centre,  even  when  hundreds  of  miles  of 
mountain  and  prairie  separated  it  from  the  nearest  railroad.  Dependent  upon 
the  Missouri  river  for  its  commercial  intercourse  with  the  world,  it  was  in  a 
state  of  well-nigh  complete  isolation  during  the  greater  part  of  every  ^'ear. 
Under  other  conditions,  this  comparative  isolation  would  have  stunted  its 
growth  and  cramped  the  energies  of  its  people.  But  with  the  assured  product 
of  their  labor  such  a  commodity  as  gold,  with  its  universality  of  demand  and 
stability  of  value,  the  sturdy  settlers  in  Last  Chance  Gidch  had  a' ways  the  most 
powerful  of  incentives  to  restless  energy.     With   the  steadily  increasing  pro- 


22 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


duction  of  the  precious  metals,  if  not  in  its  own  immediate  vicinity,  at  least  in 
the  country  it  dominated,  Helena  grew  rich,  until  now  it  claims  to  be  the 
wealthiest  city  of  its  size  in  the  United  States. 

it  was  on  the  afternoon  of  the  15th  of  July,  1864,  that  a  party  of  four 
miners,  weary  and  sick  at  heart,  pitched  their  tents  in  that  desolate-looking^ 
gulch  where  now  stands  this  flourishing  city.  Disappointed  at  not  being  able 
to  secure  claims  in  the  then  prosperous  camp  of  Virginia  City,  and  reduced  to 
great  extremity,  they  regarded  the  little  gulch  on  the  Prickly  Pear  as  their 
"last  chance."  Finding  gold  in  paymg  quantities,  they  resolved  to  settle 
down  ;  and  it  is  said,  that,  before  two  years  had  elapsed,  each  of  them  was  worth 
$50,000. 

In  the  meantime,  the  little  camp  in  what  was  thenceforward  known  as 
Last  Chance  Gulch  had  attracted  miners  from  all  parts  of  the  Rocky  Mount- 
ains. It  is  stated,  in  a  recent  official  publication  of  the  Territory,  that  the 
gulch  yielded  $30,000,000  during  the  first  three  seasons  it  was  worked;  but 
these  figures  so  far  exceed  the  popular  estimate,  that  they  are  repeated  only 
under  reserve.  The  present  annual  production  is  said  to  be  about  $50,000. 
It  would  seem  to  the  visitor  as  though  every  square  foot  of  ground  had  been 
dug  up,  and,  if  it  be  his  first  experience  of  a  placer  mining  distric*-,  its  appear- 
ance will  strike  him  as  singularly  novel. 

The  romance  of  mining  is  well  illustrated  by  the  story  of  the  citizen  of 
Helena  who  was  digging  out  a  cellar  to  his  house,  when  a  passing  stranger 
offered  to  remove  the  pile  of  earth  that  was  being  heaped  up  in  the  roadway, 
and  promised  to  return  with  one-half  of  whatever  dust  he  might  obtain  by  the 
washing  to  which  he  proposed  to  submit  it.  Permission  granted  and  the  earth 
removed,  the  citizen  thought  no  more  of  the  matter.  Great,  therefore,  was  his 
astonishment  when,  a  few  days  later,  the  half-forgotten  face  of  the  stranger 
appeared  at  the  dooi,  and  he  was  handed,  as  his  share  of  the  yield  of  that 
unpromising  dirt,  the  equivalent  of  $650. 

Possibly,  however,  a  story  involving  only  a  paltry  sum  of  three  figures,  may 
not  answer  to  the  reader's  conception  of  the  romantic.  It  does  not  excite  his 
imagination.  He  expects  to  read  of  millions.  If  so,  let  us  turn  to  the  story 
of  the  miner,  who,  confident  that  he  was  the  possessor  of  a  valuable  claim, 
held  on  to  it  in  spite  of  the  most  adverse  circumstances,  hiring  himself  out  in 
winter  that  he  might  have  a  little  money  wherewith  to  work  upon  his  claim  in 
summer,  until,  at  last,  after  eight  years  of  indomitable  perseverance  and  patient 
toil,  he  was  abl^  to  sell  his  property  for  $2,250,000  ;  or  that  of  the  weary  and 
penniless  wanderer,  who,  having  tramped  all  the  way  from  Nevada,  began  a 
toilsome  search,  to  be  continued  through  much  suffering  and  privation  for 
several  years,  but  destined  to  be  rewarded  at  last  by  the  discovery  of  one  of 
the  riche- 1  veins  of  gold  in  the  Territory,  a  vein  that  has  yielded,  up  to  the 
present  time,  $4,000,000  worth  of  gold. 

The  tourist  will  find  an  hour's  chat  with  an  old-timer  an  interesting  and 
not  altogether  unprofit-ible  exercise,  albeit  he  may  find  it  hard  to  discriminate 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


23 


ast  m 
e  the 


between  statements  that   he  may  venture  to  repeat  and  those  made  for  his 
especial  benefit  as  a  tenderfoot. 

He  need  not,  however,  discredit  such  stories  as  that  a  four-mule  team  once 

hauled  to  ^"ort  Benton,  for  transportation  down  the 
Missouri  river,  two  and  one-half  tons  of  gold, 
valued  at  $1,500,000;  nor  yet,  that  in  the  early 
days  potatoes  were  worth  fifty 
cents  per  pound,  and  flour  one 
dollar,  or  that  oranges  were  sold 
at  a  dollar  each,  and  small  pine- 
apples at  seven  dollars.  These 
are  facts  not  more  startling  than 
many  others  that  might  be  quoted. 
In  the  raining  world,  at  least,  truth 
is  positively  stranger  than  fiction. 


YELLOWSTONE  RIVER, 
NATIONAL  PARK. 

The  annual  production 
of  the  precious  metals  in 
Montana  has  increased 
enormously  within  recent  years, 
doubling  itself  between  1880  and 
1882,  and  febling  between  1882 
and  1884.  The  annual  output  now  approaches  $30,000,000,  and  the  Ter- 
ritory   stands    at    the    head    of    the   gold-producing   regions   of    the    world, 


24 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


notwithstanding  that  upward  of  $200,000,000  worth  has  been  extracted  from 
its  soil. 

Among  the  many  famous  mines  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  mountains 
are  the  Drum  Lumon,  shipping  $80,000  worth  of  bullion  per  month,  of 
which  fully  cne-half  may  be  set  down  as  profit;  the  Gloster,  shipping  $50,000 
worth  per  month;  the  Whitlach  Union,  long  the  most  celebrated  gold  mine  in 
the  Territory;  those  of  Red  Mountain,  said  to  be  the  most  important  unde- 
veloped mineral  field  in  the  United  States;  the  Clark's  Fork,  bordering  on  the 
National  Park,  and  now  yielding,  and  with  no  railroad  facilities,  8155  tons  of  ore 
per  day;  those  of  the  Helena  Mining  and  Reduction  Company  at  Wickes, 
reached  by  a  branch  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  from  Prickly  Pear  Junc- 
tion, and  known  to  have  shipped  as  much  as  $125,000  worth  of  ore  in  a 
single  month  ;  and  the  Lexington,  which  has  produced  silver  ore  averaging  in 
assay  value  from  $15,000  to  $20,000  per  ton.  Visitors  to  the  New  Orleans 
Exposition  of  1884-85  will  remember  the  magnificent  exhibits  from  the  last- 
mentioned  mine,  as  also  those  from  the  Cable  and  Drum  Lumon  mines,  the 
latter  including  one  solid  chunk  of  high-grade  ore  weighing  1,715  pounds. 

The  most  valuable  gold  nugget  ever  found  in  Montana  is  said  to  have  been 
worth  about  $3,200.  There  is  a  nugget  in  the  vault  of  the  First  National  Bank 
at  Helena,  weighing  47.7  ounces,  and  valued  at  $945.80.  But  the  most  interest- 
ing sight  in  the  city  is,  undoubtedly,  the  process  of  assaying  at  the  United 
States  Assay  Office,  where  may  also  be  seen  those  marvelously  adjusted  and 
delicately  graduated  scales,  by  which  the  weight  of  even  an  eye-lash  can  be 
exactly  determined. 

The  next  stage  of  the  traveler's  journey  westward  from  Helena  lies  across 

THE  MAIN  RANGE  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 


It  is  by  way  of  the  MuUan  Pass — so  named  from  the  fact  of  Lieut.  John 
Mullan,  U.  S.  A.,  having  built  a  wagon  road  through  it  in  1867,  to  connect 
Fort  Benton,  Mont.,  with  Fort  Walla  Walla,  W.  T., — that  the  railroad  is  carried 
over  the  continental  divide.  The  highest  elevation  of  the  pass  itself  is  5,855 
feet;  but,  by  the  construction  of  a  tunnel  3,850  feet  in  length,  the  line  was 
made  to  reach  the  western  slope  without  attaining  a  higher  elevation  than 
5,547  feet. 

It  is  not  until  Butler  is  reached,  thirteen  miles  from  Helena,  that  either  the 
scenery  or  the  construction  of  the  road  calls  for  special  notice.  But  at  that 
point  the  scenery  becomes  exceedingly  picturesque,  tlie  rocks  towering  above 
the  pines  and  spruce  like  the  ruins  of  some  ancient  stronghold.  From  now  on, 
too,  the  tourist  will  find  constant  employment  in  observing  how  the  gigantic 
barriers,  which  seem  to  forbid  all  further  progress,  are.  one  after  another,  over- 
come. 

Amid  .scenery  ir  creasing  in  wildness  and  grandeur,  the  train  pursues  its  tor- 
tuous course  ;    through  Iron   Ridge  'I'uimel,  near  whicli  tlie  track   forms  an 


% 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


25 


almost  perfect  letter  S;  across  innumerable  ravines;  along  rocky  shelves  and 
through  deep  cuttings,  until  at  last  it  enters  the  eastern  portal  of  the  Mullan 
Tunnel.  A  few  minutes  later  the  traveler  is  looking  out  upon  the  grassy 
hills  and  pleasant  valleys  of  the  Pacific  slope,  the  approach  to  the  tunnel  from 
the  west  presenting  a  singular  contrast  to  the  savage  grandeur  that  distin- 
guishes the  approach  from  the  east. 

Following  the  valley  of  the  Little  Blackfoot,  the  train  presently  arrives  at 
Garrison,  where  passengers  desirous  of  visiting  the  most  flourishing  mining  city 
on  the  American  continent,  if  not  in  the  world,  must  change  cars. 

"  The  most  flourishing  mining  city  on  the  American  continent,  if  not  in  the 
world  ! "  exclaims  the  reader.  Even  so  :  and  yet  wc  are  not  in  Nevada,  nor 
yet  in  Colorado;  and,  besides,  the  former  is  about  played  out;  and,  as  for  Lead- 
ville,  every  cne  remembers  the  disasters  that  overtook  her,  culminating,  as  they 
did,  in  the  failure  of  all  her  four  banks.  The  city  is  Butte,  that,  at  the  last 
United  States  census,  had  a  population  of  only  3,363,  but  now  claims  six  times 
that  number,  and  has  a  monthly  mining  pay-roll  of  $620,000. 

The  line  from  Garrison  runs  through  the  beautiful  Deer  Lodge  valley,  in 
which  are  many  fine  farms.  Deer  Lodge  City,  the  judicial  seat  of  the  county, 
is  pleasantly  situated  4,546  feet  above  sea-level.  Being  well  laid  out,  it  presents, 
with  its  wide  streets  and  handsome  public  buildings,  an  exceedingly  attractive 
appearance. 

It  is  at  the  head  of  this  valley,  on  the  western  slope  of  the  main  range  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  fifteen  miles  from  the  Pipestone  Pass,  that  there  has 
been  witnessed,  during  the  last  three  or  four  years,  that  rapid  growth  of  popula- 
tion and  wealth  that  is  without  parallel,  even  in  the  marvelous  annals  of  mining. 
Here,  encompassed  on  three  sides  by  lofty  ranges  of  mountains,  Butte  pours 
forth  the  smoke  of  its  innumerable  furnaces;  for  not  only  is  its  production  of 
silver  so  great  that  it  has  come  to  be  designated  the  "  Silver  City,"  but  its 
copper  mines  are  such  as  to  give  employment  to  the  most  extensive  smelting 
works  in  the  United  States.  Its  total  production  during  1885,  valued  at 
$15,000,000,  viz.,  $5,000,006  worth  of  l)ullion  and  $10,000,000  worth  of  copper 
matte,  was  twice  that  of  Utah,  and  three  times  that  of  Nevada.  It  also 
exceeded  that  of  the  whole  of  California,  or  the  combined  production  of  Idaho, 
New  Mexico  and  Arizona. 

The  leading  silvermines  of  the  district  are  the  .Mice,  Moulton,  Lexington,  Blue 
Bird  and  Silver  Bow,  which  alone  employ  210  stamps  and  produce  230  tons  of 
ore  daily.  The  magnificent  appliances  of  the  .Vlice  mine,  including  the  great 
Cornish  pump  that  cost  $40,000,  are  the  wonder  of  every  visitor.  The  process 
of  reduction,  here  as  elsewhere,  is  somewhat  complex,  especially  in  the  case 
of  the  baser  ores,  being  in  part  chemical  and  in  part  mechanical.  It  involves 
the  crushing  of  the  ore  to  powder,  under  the  pressure  of  enormous  bars  of  iron, 
weighing  900  pounds  each,  and  known  as  "stamps,"  and  its  subse(]uent 
roasting  in  large,  hollow  cylinders,  salt  being  largely  employed  in  the  former, 
and  quicksilver  in  the  latter,  stage  of  the  operation.     The  roasting  mills  of  the 


S6 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


\. 


Alice  mines  treat  loo  tons  of  ore  per  day,  and  their  bullion  product  approaches 
$100,000  per  month. 

The  great  Lexington  property,  which  has  produced  $1,000,000  per  annum 
for  four  years,  is  owned  by  a  French  company.  It  claims  to  be  the  most 
complete  mine  in  the  entire  West,  and  it  is  certainly  one  of  the  richest  and  most 
extensive. 

The  Moulton  and  Silver  Bow  have  a  daily  capacity  of  forty  and  thirty  tons  of 
ore  respectively.  They  are  magnificent  properties,  well  developed  and  exceed- 
ingly productive.  The  former  makes  the  proud  boast  of  workmg  its  ore  to  a 
higher  percentage  of  its  value  than  any  other  mill  in  the  district. 

But  it  is  the  copper  mines  and  smelters  that  represent  the  largest  capital ; 
give  employment  to  the  greatest  number  of  men  ;  have  the  largest  production, 
both  in  tonnage  and  aggregate  value;  and,  it  may  be  added,  make  the  most 
smoke. 

At  the  head  of  the  rich  and  powerful  companies  engaged  in  this  industry, 
stands  the  Anaconda, — its  mine  at  Butte,  the  greatest  copper  property  in  America; 
its  smelting  works,  at  the  neighboring  town  of  Anaconda,  the  largest  of  their 
kind  in  the  world.  Sold,  five  years  ago,  for  an  amount  that  would  not  now  be 
more  than  sufificient  to  pay  its  employes  a  week's  wages,  its  property  is  roughly 
estimated  to  be  worth  $15,000,000.  With  certain  contemplated  additions  to  its 
smelting  capacity,  it  will  handle  daily  1,200  tons  of  ore,  yielding  180  tons  of 
matte,  or  108  tons  of  pure  copper.  Its  entire  machinery  run  by  water-power, 
it  yet  requires  for  its  furnaces  no  less  than  180  cords  of  wood  per  day  ;  in  view 
of  which  enormous  consumption  it  is  stated  to  have  recently  let  a  contract  for 
300,000  cords,  representing  upward  of  $1,000,000.  Second  only  to  this 
gigantic  concern,  is  the  Parrott  Company,  whose  total  matte  output  for  1884 
was  14,856,323  pounds,  containing  9,324,805  pounds  of  pure  copper,  valued, 
including  its  silver  contents,  at  about  $1,250,000.  With  largely  increased 
capacity,  its  production  of  pure  copper  will  probably  have  reached  15,000,000 
pounds  in  the  year  just  drawing  to  a  close.  Among  other  leading  companies, 
may  be  mentioned  the  Montana,  owning  some  of  the  richest  and  most  steadily 
productive  mining  property  in  process  of  development ;  Clark's  Colusa,  said 
to  have  in  sight,  above  the  300-foot  level,  at  least  150,000  tons  of  valuable 
ore ;  and  the  Bell  and  Colorado,  two  of  the  richest  copper-silver  mines  in 
the  district. 

So  much  for  the  mines  and  smelting  works  of  Butte.  What  of  the  city 
itself  ?  Briefly,  it  may  be  said  to  be  a  typical  Western  town,  as  seen  in  flush 
times  ;  nothing  too  big  for  it,  nothing  too  good  ;  its  quivering  energy  finding 
expression,  now  in  the  erection  of  a  $150,000  court  house,  and  now  in  that  of 
the  finest  opera  house  on  the  Pacific  slope,  outside  of  San  Francisco  ;  its  busi- 
ness enterprise  filling  magnificent  stores  with  costly  goods,  suited  to  the  tastes, 
pocket-books  and  spending  proclivities  of  a  community  that  on  last  Christmas 
eve  spent  $6,000  in  presents  in  a  smgle  one  of  its  stores. 

There  are  several  good  trout  streams  in   the  vicinity  of  Butte,  and  it  is 


28 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


pleasant  to  know  that,  in  a  city  whose  amusements  are  mainly  of  a  very  differ- 
ent character,  there  are  those  who  know  how  to  handle  the  rod. 

Proceeding  westward  from  Garrison,  the  traveler  will  have  some  fine  views 
of  mountain  scenery,  including  the  snow-clad  peaks  of  Mount  Powell.  Drum- 
mond,  tv;2nty-one  miles  west,  is  the  station  from  which  a  branch  line  is  now 
being  constructed  to  the  rich  mining  districts  of  New  Chicago  and  Phillipsburg. 
Granite  Mountain  mine,  near  the  latter  place,  is  exceedingly  rich.  A  vein  of 
ore,  six  feet  wide,  and  assaying  from  1 25  to  2,000  ounces  of  silver  to  the  ton, 
is  now  being  worked,  ihe  output  reaching  $120,000  per  month. 

Soon  the  train  enters  Hell  Gate  Canon,  at  first  a  beautiful  valley,  from  two 
to  three  miles  in  width,  but  narrowing  as  we  go  westward,  until  from  between 
its  stupendous  walls  we  suddenly  emerge  upon  a  br6ad  plateau,  where  stands 
the  city  of  Missoula.  Formerly  a  remote  and  isolated  frontier  post,  Missoula  is 
now  a  place  of  considerable  importance.  Extending  southward  for  ninety 
miles  is  the  valley  of  the  Bitter  Root  river,  well  watered,  exceedingly  fertile 
and  thickly  settled.  Here  are  raised  fine  crops  of  wheat  and  oats,-  as  well  as 
vegetables,  apples  and  strawberries. 

The  tourist  has  now  entered  the  finest  game  country  in  the  Northwest. 
At  any  point  along  the  line,  for  a  distance  of  nearly  three  hundred  miles,  he 
will  find  deer,  elk  and  bear  in  great  abundance.  Let  him  but  place  himself  on 
their  trail,  and  he  will  certainly  soon  have  them  within  gunshot.  Even  in  the 
vicinity  of  Missoula  there  is  excellent  sport,  one  local  trapper  obtaining  $160 
bounty  for  bear  last  season.  Ducks  and  prairie  chickens  are  also  plentiful, 
and  various  species  of  trout  abound  in  the  mountain  streams. 

The  most  interesting,  as  it  is  the  most  accessible,  of  the  Indian  reservations 
contiguous  to  the  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  is  that  of  the  Flathead 
tribe,  through  which  the  line  runs  for  many  miles  in  the  course  of  its  north- 
westward sweep  from  Missoula.  At  Arlee  station,  the  visitor  is  within  five 
miles  of  the  agency,  and  at  Ravalli  a  like  distance  from  St.  Ignatius  mission. 
For  a  full  account  of  the  excellent  work  carried  on  among  the  Indians  by  the 
Jesuit  Fathers,  together  with  an  exceedingly  interesting  description  of  the  Flat- 
head country  generally,  the  reader  is  referred  to  an  article  in  the  Century 
Magazine  for  October,  1882,  from  the  accomplished  pen  of  Mr.  E.  V.  Smalley, 
as  well  as  to  sundry  articles  in  that  gentleman's  own  magazine,  The  Nortlnvcst. 
From  a  point  about  500  feet  from  the  summit  of  Macdonald's  Peak,  a  few  miles 
north  of  Ravalli,  there  is  a  remarkable  view  of  a  deep  mountain  gorge  known 
as  Pumpelly  Canon,  which  has  many  of  the  striking  features  of  the  Yosemite 
valley,  in  California.  Two  waterfalls,  having  an  apparent  height  of  about  800 
feet,  leap  into  this  profound  rocky  canon,  and  form  a  small  circular  lake  of  a 
dark  blue  color.  This  lake  falls,  by  another  cataract,  into  a  second  lake  of 
exactly  the  same  size  and  shape  as  the  first,  while  still  another  cataract  leaps 
from  the  lower  lake  into  a  deep  ravine  filled  with  magnificent  forest  trees.  An 
excursion  to  Macdonald's  Peak  may  be  made  from  the  mission  in  a  single  day. 
Tourists   are,   however,    recommended   to   take   blankets  and  provisions,  and 


THROUGH  W0NDERLA1\U. 


•^9 


y  differ- 

le  views 
Drum- 
is  now 

ipsburg. 
vein  of 

the  ton, 


encamp  upon  the  crest  of  the  mountain  to  witness  the  sunrise.  Saddle  horses 
are  obtainable  at  the  mission,  and  there  is  a  good  trail  all  the  way. 

Hauser  Junction,  238  miles  west  of  Missoula,  is  where  the  new  road  to  the 
Coeur  d'AU^ne  mines  connects  with  the  main  line.  The  distress  that  followed 
the  arrival  in  this  district,  in  1883,  of  several  thousand  half-starving  adven- 
turers, who,  expecting  to  pick  up  in  a  few  hours'  time  nuggets  enough  to  make 
them  rich  for  life,  brought  neither  blankets  to  protect  them  from  the  cold  of 
winter,  nor  the  means  of  returning  to  their  far-distant  homes,  or  even  of 
reaching  less  remote  centres  where  work  could  be  obtained,  gave  the  Coeur 
d"A16ne  mines  a  blow  from  which  they  were  slow  to  recover.  The  development 
that  has  since  taken  place,  especially  since  the  introduction  of  hydraulics,  has, 
however,  abundantly  demonstrated  that  former  claims  as  to  the  richness  and 
permanence  of  the  mines  were  well  founded,  and  we  shall  probably  soon  see 
here  the  richest  placer  mining  camp  in  the  world. 

The  matchless  river  scenery  that  has  done  so  much  toward  placing  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad  system  in  the  proud  position  it  occupies  to-day  at 
the  head  of  the  scenic  railways  of  America,  is  not  alone  that  of  the  peerless 
Columbia.  For  140  miles  of  its  course,  in  Western  Montana  and  the  Pan- 
handle of  Idaho,  it  follows  the  windings  of  a  stream  that  for  grand  and 
imposing  scenery  is  second  only  to  that  renowned  river  itself.  Should  the 
traveler  wake  up  in  the  morning,  anywhere  between  the  point  at  which  the 
waters  of  the  Missoula  empty  themselves  into  the  bright  green  flood  of  the 
Pend  d'Oreille  river  and  the  head  of  Pend  d'Oreille  Lake,  he  will  almost 
certainly  suppose  that  it  is  in  the  current  of  the  far-famed  Columbia  that  he 
sees  reflected,  perhaps  hundreds  of  feet  beneath  him,  the  varying  forms  of 
those  stately  mountains  that  soar  thousands  of  feet  above.  But  he  is  as  yet 
almost  a  day's  journey  from  the  classic  regions  of  the  Columbia,  albeit  the 
lordly  stream,  whose  scenery  will  be,  hour  after  hour,  a  succession  of  surprises 
and  delights  to  him,  is  one  of  the  principal  forks  of  that  mighty  river,  whose 
still  grander  scenery  it  may  be  said  to  foreshadow  in  miniature. 

Between  the  Yellowstone  National  Park,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Columbia 
river,  on  the  other,  Clark's  Fork  and  the  beautiful  lake  into  which  it  widens 
out  before  turning  northward  to  the  British  possessions,  have  been  almost  com- 
pletely overshadowed.  But  their  ten  thousand  beauties  will  assert  themselves. 
They  have  not  to  be  sought  for  in  out-of-the-way  places,  nor  are  they  so  localized 
that  a  mere  passing  glimpse  is  the  only  reward  of  strained  attention  as  the  train 
flies  onward.  On  the  contrary,  from  an  early  hour  in  the  morning  until  long 
pa.st  noon,  there  is  a  continuous  unfolding  of  scenes  in  which  are  combined,  with 
Nature's  inimitable  skill  and  infinite  variety,  all  that  is  grandest  in  mountain, 
all  that  is  most  graceful  in  woodland  and  stream.  So  evenly  distributed  are 
the  beauties  of  this  long  stretch  of  river  scenery,  that  it  is  not  easy  to  single  out 
particular  points  as  calling  for  special  notice.  There  are,  however,  two  that 
must  arrest  the  attention  and  command  the  admiration  of  every  traveler.  The 
first,  one  mile  east  of  Cabinet,  where  the  river,  which  has  been  flowing  for  some 
distance   considerably  below   the  level  of  the  railroad,  enters  a  magnificent 


30 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


rocky  gorge  ;  and  the  other,  about  the  same  distance  east  of  Clark's  Fork, 
where  it  flows,  without  a  ripple,  through  a  forest  of  stately  pines,  whose  forms 
are,  jvith  singular  fidelity,  reflected  in  its  clear  and  tranquil  waters.  Soon  it  is 
lost  to  view,  but  only  to  reappear,  after  a  short  interval,  in  the  form  of  the  lovely 

LAKE  PEND  D'OREILLE. 


One  of  the  largest  sheets  of  fresh  water  in  the  West,  Lake  Pend  d'Oreille 
will  certainly  yield  to  none  in  the  beauty  and  variety  of  its  scenery.  Fifty-five 
miles  in  extreme  length,  and  from  three  to  twelve  miles  in  width,  it  has  an 
irregular  shore  line  of  probably  250  miles,  richly  diversified  with  rock  and 
foliage,  and  surmounted  by  lofty  ranges  of  hills.  The  railroad  follows  the 
north  shore  of  the  lake  for  about  twenty-five  miles,  passing  several  little  settle- 
ments, among  which  are  Hope,  Kootenai  and  Sand  Point.  The  Railroad  Com- 
pany, not  undervaluing  in  the  least  the  great  importance  of  this  magnificent 
sheet  of  water  to  the  tourist,  hunter  and  angler,  have  recently  completed  an 
excellent  hotel  at  Hope,  commanding  a  grand  view  of  lake  and  mountain  scenery, 
where  good  accommodations  are  afforded  at  reasonable  cost. 

While  the  view  tiom  the  car  windows  is  not  to  be  compared  with  the  scen- 
ery at  the  southern  end  of  the  lake,  it  must,  nevertheless,  be  pronounced  superb. 
In  the  immediate  foreground,  the  green  waters  break  soothingly  upon  a  pebbly 
beach,  or  fall  in  crested  waves.  On  the  right  and  left  recede  into  distance  the 
deeply  indented  shores,  here  clothed  with  luxuriant  forests,  there  bare  and  pre- 
cipitous. Yonder,  nineteen  miles  away,  is  Granite  Point,  rising  perpendicularly 
from  the  water  724  feet,  with  Granite  Mountain  behind  it,  towering  5,300  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  lake,  itself  surmounted  by  the  snowy  peaks  of  Pack 
Saddle  Mountain,  and  they,  in  turn,  by  the  great  purple  range  of  the  Coeur 
d'AU^nes. 

Not  a  few  Eastern  travelers  passing  over  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  have 
remarked  upon  the  resemblance  borne  by  the  scenery  of  Lake  Pend  d'Oreille 
to  that  of  their  own  famous  Lake  George.  It  is,  however,  if  possible,  even 
finer,  the  mountains  being  loftier,  and  the  forests  more  luxuriant,  than  those 
inclosing  the  hitherto  unrivaled  lake  in  Northern  New  York. 

To  fully  set  forth  the  attractions  of  this  region  for  the  sportsman,  or  to  do 
anything  like  justice  to  its  waters  as  fishing  grounds,  would  require  more  space 
than  is  devoted  in  this  pamphlet  to  the  entire  country  between  the  Great  Lakes 
and  Puget  Sound.  Nowhere,  probably,  in  the  United  States,  is  there  such  an 
abundance  of  large  game  as  in  the  forests  of  Northwestern  Montana  and  North- 
ern Idaho.  Within  a  few  miles  of  any  of  the  stations  on  Lake  Pend  d'Oreillejnay 
be  found  mule  deer,  white-tailed  deer,  elk,  caribou  and  moose,  black  and  cinna- 
mon bear,  and  mountain  sheep.  Of  winged  game,  geese,  ducks  and  partridge 
are  plentiful,  and  they  may  be  shot  at  any  season  of  the  year.  Various  appli- 
cations have  been  made  to  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  by  local 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


31 


;'s  Fork, 
se  forms 
Soon  it  is 
he  lovely 


d'Oreille 
Fifty-five 
has  an 
rock  and 
lows  the 
le  settle- 
sad  Com- 
ignificent 
ileted  an 
1  scenery, 


hunters,  for  special  rates  for  the  shipment  of  game  East ;  but  the  Company  has 
steadfastly  refused  to  encourage  the  wholesale  destruction  of  game  for  com- 
mercial purposes,  preferring  that  it  should  be  reserved  for  legitimate  sport. 


the  scen- 
id  superb. 

a  pebbly 
stance  the 
;  and  pre- 
ndicularly 
5,300  feet 
1  of  Pack 
the  Cojur 

road  have 

d'Oreille 

ible,  even 

[lan  those 

,  or  to  do 
ore  space 
eat  Lakes 
i  such  an 
nd  North- 
reillejnay 
nd  cinna- 
partridge 
)us  appli- 
,  by  local 


LAKE  PEND  D'OREILLE,   IDAHO. 


The  true  sportsman  will  immensely  enjoy  an  excursion  into  the  Kootenai 
country.  The  best  route  is  from  Kootenai  station  to  Bonner's  Ferry,  on  the 
Kootenai  river,  a  distance  of  thirty-three  miles  by  wagon  road,  and  thence  by 


r^ 


!l 


n 


d'i 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


boat,  either  down  to  the  lake,  a  further  distance  of  ninety  miles,  or  up  into  the 
mountains.  Complete  camping  outfits  may  be  obtained  from  Spokane  Falls, 
the  nearest  town  on  the  line  of  the  railroad. 

That  the  waters  of  Clark's  Fork  and  Lake  Pend  d'Oreille  are  full  of  fine  fish  of 
many  varieties,  is  established  by  overwhelming  testimony.  The  want  of  a  com- 
mon nomenclature,  however,  is  somewhat  embarrassing  to  one  whose  oppor- 
tunities for  personal  observation  have  been  limited.  Perhaps,  therefore,  it  will 
be  best  to  allow  the  local  anglers  to  tell  their  own  stories.  Beginning  with  the 
town  of  Thompson's  Falls  on  the  main  line,  loi  miles  west  of  Missoula,  we  find 
a  recent  correspondent  of  the  American  Angler  claiming  for  Clark's  Fork  an 
abundance  of  salmon  trout,  of  a  species  of  large  lake  trout,  and  a  species  of 
whitefish,  known  locally  as  "  squaw  fish."  Salmon  trout  are,  he  says,  caught  at 
all  times  of  the  year,  except  in  midwinter  and  during  high  water  in  the  month 
of  June.  They  average  from  one-half  to  two  pounds  each,  and  the  fishing  is 
best  during  early  spring  and  late  fall.  Lake  trout  have  been  caught  weighing 
as  much  as  eighteen  pounds  each;  but  the  average  is  about  six  pounds.  The 
"  squaw  fish  "  is  said  to  be  gamey,  but  of  comparatively  little  value  for  the  table. 
The  same  correspondent  says  that  the  mountain  streams  emptying  into  Clark's 
Fork  in  the  vicinity  of  Thompson's  Falls,  afford  excellent  mountain  trout  fish- 
ing, and  he  quotes  large  scores  made  by  local  anglers.  At  Heron,  which,  by 
the  way,  is  a  divisional  terminus  of  the  railroad,  with  a  first-class  hotel  operated 
in  connection  with  the  dining  car  department,  trout  is  said  to  be  so  abundant 
as  to  be  thought  nothing  of ;  "  grayling,"  sometimes  reaching  ten  pounds  in 
weight,  are  almost  as  plentiful;  and  it  is  said  to  be  no  uncommon  thing  to  see 
them  jumping  out  of  the  water,  pursued  by  large  whitefish.  Bull  river,  eight 
miles  distant,  yields  salmon  trout  weighing  up  to  twelve  pounds.  The  waters 
of  Lake  Pend  d'Oreille  contain,  in  addition  to  the  common  lake  trout,  a  species 
weighing  from  five  to  ten  pounds  each,  and  occasionally  caught  weighing  as 
much  as  twenty  pounds,  speckled  on  both  back  and  sides,  and  generally  resem- 
bling Mackinac  trout.  They  are  a  fine  table  fish,  being  much  superior  to  lake 
trout.  The  "  squaw  fish  "  of  this  lake  are  said  to  resemble  the  pike.  They 
weigh  from  one  pound  to  five  pounds  each.  From  about  the  middle  of 
August  until  the  snow  flie.s,  the  trout  fishing  is  "the  best  in  the  world." 
There  is  also  a  fish  resembling  the  herring,  found  in  one  part  of  the  lake  in 
immense  shoals. 

Soon  after  leaving  Lake  Pend  d'Oreille,  the  line  enters  a  dense  forest 
containing  few  settlements,  and  little  that  is  interesting  or  picturesque,  beyond 
the  beautiful  Lake  Cocolala,  a  long  but  narrow  sheet  of  water  on  the  north 
side  of  the  track.  This  lake  even  rivals,  in  the  beauty  of  its  waters  and 
the  grandeur  of  its  mountain  scenery,  its  more  accessible  neighbor.  Lake 
Pend  d'Oreille,  while  its  conveniences  for  boating  and  fishing  are  equally 
good. 

At  the  station  of  Idaho  Line,  the  train  enters  the  Territory  of  Washington, 
pursuing  its  way  in  a  southwesterly  direction  across  the  great  Spokane  Plain. 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


A  short  run,  and  we  are  at  Spokane  Falls,  a  bright  and  busy  little  city, 
charmingly  situated  on  the  Spokane  river,  neat  the  celebrated  falls  from  which 
it  takes  its  name.  Built  upon  a  gravelly  plateau,  sloping  gently  toward  the 
river,  overlooked  by  beautiful  pine-clad  hills  and  with  lofty  mountain  ranges  in 
the  far  distance,  Spokane  Falls  can  not  but  produce  a  favorable  impression 
upon  the  passing  traveler.  Its  falls,  which  are  its  chief  natural  attraction,  and 
will  be  the  secret  of  the  great  commercial  and  manufacturing  importance  that 
undoubtedly  awaits  it,  are  situated  on  the  north  side  of  the  town.  The  river 
is  divided  by  basaltic  islands  into  three  great  streams,  curving  toward  each 
other,  and  pouring  their  floods  into  a  common  basin,  from  which  the  united 
waters  come  surging  and  foaming  to  make  their  final  plunge  of  sixty-five  feet 
into  the  deep  chasm  below.  The  tremendous  force  with  which  the  river  tears 
through  its  rocky  channels,  and  hurls  itself  over  the  falls,  is  perhaps  best  illus- 
trated by  a  comparison  with  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  at  Minneapolis.  While  the 
latter  represent  a  force  of  135,000  horse  power,  the  former  represents  one  of 
216,000  horse  power,  utilizable  with  equal  facility.  Several  extensive  flouring 
mills,  as  well  as  saw  mills,  are  already  in  operation  ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that, 
with  the  development  of  the  rich  wheat  country  of  Eastern  Washington,  there 
will  come  an  immense  extension  of  the  manufacturing  industries  of  Spokane  Falls. 

It  is  probable  that  the  town  will  soon  have  an  additional  feeder  in  a  branch 
line  of  railway,  extending  northward  to  the  Colville  mining  region, — a  line 
southward  to  the  Palouse  wheat  country  having  recently  been  completed  to 
Belmont,  a  distance  of  fifty-one  miles. 

Until  within  the  last  year  or  two,  the  settlements  of  the  Colville  valley  have 
been  confined  to  the  scattered  homes  of  ranchmen.  But  recently  the  tide  of 
immigration  that  has  been  flowing  into  the  Territory  has  reached  this  remote 
region,  and  agricultural  operations  of  a  general  character  are  being  engaged  in. 
The  valley  is  as  fertile  as  it  is  beautiful,  and  not  only  fine  wheat,  but  fruit  of 
excellent  quality,  is  being  raised  there. 

In  the  Chewelah  district  there  have  recently  been  found  so  many  rich  veins 
of  silver  that  Mr.  E.  V.  Smalley.  who  visited  it  in  November,  1885,  declares 
that  it  is  almost  certain  to  become,  within  a  few  years,  the  greatest  silver  camp 
on  the  continent. 

Sixteen  and  forty-one  miles  respectively  westward  from  Spokane  Falls,  are 
Cheney  and  Sprague,  in  a  good  agricultural  country,  whose  rapid  development 
is  building  them  up  as  solid  and  substantial  towns.  Cheney  has  a  large  hotel, 
and  is,  moreover,  the  nearest  railway  station  to  Medical  Lake,  a  large  sheet  of 
water  possessing  remarkable  curative  properties,  and  situated  nine  miles  west. 
Good  hotels  and  bathing  establishments  having  been  erected,  Medical  Lake  is 
now  an  exceedingly  pleasant  resort,  the  surrounding  country  being  very 
attractive. 

From  Palouse  Junction,  sixty-nine  miles  west  of  Sprague,  a  line  extends 
eastward  into  the  Palouse  country.     So  far  as  regards  scenery,  a  ride  over  thi^ 


ii 


It 


V: 


u 


THROUGH   WONDERLAND. 


line  to  Colfax  and  Moscow  is  as  unintercstinjf  a  railroad  journey  as  could  well 
be  found,  t'.ie  line  following  a 'series  of  valleys  that  have  the  appearance  of 
having  once  formed  the  rocky  bed  of  some  considerable  stream, 

Colfax  is  a  busy  little  city  in  the  Palouse  river  valley,  hemmed  in  so  closely 
on  both  sides  that  one  of  its  rivals  recently  suggested  that  it  might  find  it  an 
advantage  to  be  roofed  over.  But  it  does  a  considerable  business  for  so  small 
a  place,  shipping  a  large  proportion  of  the  agricultural  produce  of  the  valley, 
estimated,  in  1885,  at  two  million  bushels  of  grain.  The  agricultural  methods 
of  Eastern  Washington  will  strike  most  visitors  as  somewhat  peculiar.  It  is  not 
in  every  State  of  the  Union,  nor  in  every  Territory,  that  the  farmer  can  plow 
and  sow  "  just  when  he  gets  ready."  But  here  plowing  and  seeding  may  be  seen 
in  progress  ten  months  out  of  every  twelve,  and  instances  have  even  been  known 
of  winter  wheat  being  sown  every  month  in  the  year,  and  all  coming  to  harvest 
in  its  proper  turn.  And  such  crops  !  Thirty,  forty  and  fifty  bushels  to  the  acre 
are  raised  so  easily,  that,  had  the  farmer  a  nearer  market,  he  would  soon  get 
rich.  The  construction  of  the  proposed  branch  southward  from  Spokane  Falls 
will,  however,  give  him  facilities  for  shipping  east  over  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  that  will  certainly  pay  him  better  than  exporting  to  England  by  way 
of  Portland,  as  he  does  at  present.  The  self-binding  harvester,  so  familiar  an 
object  in  many  other  parts  of  the  country,  is  here  unknown,  the  grain  being  cut 
by  immense  "  headers,"  propelled  by  from  four  to  eight  horses  each.  This 
strange-looking  machine,  an  exenplification  of  the  old  saying,  "the  cart  before 
the  horse,"  is  better  adapted  than  ouy  other  to  the  peculiar  conditions  of  the 
country,  straw  being  of  no  vaiue.  and  threshing  usually  going  on  simultaneously 
with  the  cutting  of  the  grain,  .!•(()  jugh  the  wheat  may,  after  cutting,  lie  in  the 
fields  for  many  weeks  without  detriment. 

The  climate  of  Eastern  Washington,  to  which  alone  this  remarkable  state  of 
things  is  due,  differs  entirely  from  that  of  the  western  half  of  the  Territory,  from 
which  it  is  divided  by  the  Cascade  range  of  mountains.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
suppose  that  the  humidity  which  characterizes  that  portion  of  the  Territory 
bordering  on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  distinguishes  it  as  a  whole.  On  the  contrary, 
the  eastern  half  is  remarkably  dry,  and  that,  too,  without  those  extremes  of 
temperature  that  usually  accompany  a  dry  climate.  Should  there  be  a  spell  of 
severe  cold  during  the  brief  winter  .season,  it  is  invariably  cut  short  by  the 
"  Kuro-Siwo,"  or  Japanese  current,  which,  striking  the  coasts  of  British  Columbia 
and  Washington  Territory,  sends  a  warm  wave  over  the  entire  Northwestern 
country,  sometimes  extending  even  to  the  valleys  of  Montana. 

Continuing  westward  from  Palouse  Junction,  a  run  of  little  more  than  an 
hour  brings  us  to  Pasco,  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  Cascade  division  of  the 
railroad.  This  important  division,  259  miles  long,  intended  to  establish  direct 
communication  between  the  harbors  on  Puget  Sound  and  the  Eastern  States, 
will  be  opened  for  business  certainly  by  June  ist,  1887.  Its  eastern  section  has 
given  a  great  impetus  to  the  development  of  the  agricultural  capabilities  of  the 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


86 


Id  well 
ince  of 


Yakima,  Klickitat  and  Kittitas  valleys,  which  are  well  adapted,  not  only  to  stock 
raising,  but  also  to  the  cultivation  of  fruits  and  cereals.  In  this  section  wool 
growing  is  also  engaged  in  witli  great  success.  This  industry  is  one  of  consid- 
erable importance  both  in  Washington  and  Oregon,  the  entire  clip  for  1885 
being  no  less  than  13,000,000  pounds. 

There  are  few  revelations  more  surprising  to  an  Eastern  tourist  than  that  of 
the  magnitude  of  some  of  the  great  Western  rivers.  The  Snake  river,  for 
•example,  is  known  to  him,  if  at  all,  merely  as  one  of  the  various  tributaries  of 
the  Columbia;  and,  when  he  finds  himself  crossing  its  mighty  flood  by  a  bridge 
1,672  feet  in  length,  and  learns  that  its  force  and  volume  are  such  that  it  drives 
itself  like  a  solid  wedge  into  the  waters  of  the  Columbia,  he  is  apt  to  wonder 
that  he  knows  so  little  about  it.  Future  tourists  will  not  regard  this  tributary 
stream  with  any  the  less  interest  for  being  told  beforehand  that  it  is  longer  than 
the  Rhine,  more  than  three  times  the  length  of  the  Hudson,  and  that,  straight- 
ened out,  it  would  reach  from  the  Missouri  valley  to  the  Atlantic  ocean.  It  is, 
moreover,  a  great  commercial  highway,  being  navigated  by  steamers  of  consid- 
erable tonnage  for  150  miles.  It  flows  for  a  long  distance  in  a  deep  cafion,  the 
:sides  of  which  are  so  precipitous  as  to  render  the  river  almost  inaccessible. 
Immense  shutes  have  therefore  been  constructed  for  the  transfer  of  the  wheat 
that  forms  the  staple  product  of  the  country  from  the  warehouses  on  the  high 
banks  to  the  boats  and  barges  anchored  below. 

Another  section  of  the  famous  wheat  country  of  Southeastern  Washington, 
identified  with  the  unmusical  name  of  Walla  Walla,  borne  by  the  oldest  and 
toest  town  east  of  the  Cascade  Mountains,  is  reached  by  a  branch  line  extending 
from  Wallula  Junction.  With  100,000  acres  of  land  cultivated  to  cereals,  with 
800,000  apple  trees,  100,000  pear,  plum  and  peach  trees,  25,000  grape-vines, 
large  herds  of  cattle,  and  still  larger  flocks  of  sheep,  the  county  of  which 
Walla  Walla  is  the  judicial  seat  may  be  taken  as  fairly  illustrating  the  varied 
■capabilities  of  Eastern  Washington.  Scarcely  less  prosperous  is  the  adjoining 
•county  of  Columbia.  These  counties,  however,  being  well  settled,  reference  Is 
made  to  them  only  as  foreshadowing  the  future  condition  of  those  younger 
•counties,  adjacent  to  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  which  are  now  in  course  of 
settlement.  In  many  of  the  latter  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  presents  even 
fewer  difficulties  than  in  these  older  settled  regions,  In  many  pc'.ts  of  which 
there  is  scarcely  an  acre  of  level  land  to  be  found. 

Returning  to  Wallula  Junction,  and  there  resuming  our  westward  journey, 
we  at  once  enter  a  region  of  surpassing  interest,  none  other  than  the  famous 
land  — 

"  Where  rolls  the  Orfgon." 

Its  navigable  waters  within  450  miles  of  those  of  the  Missouri  river,  the 
great  Columbia  drains  an  area  almost  equal  in  extent  to  the  united  area  of 
France  and  Germany.  Excluding  the  portages  at  the  Cascades  and  Dalles, 
with  several  less  important  rapids,  the  river  is  navigable  to  Kettle  Falls,  725 
imiles  from  its  mouth.     These  falls,  on  the  upper  river,  are  not  accessible  by 


jl 


:m 


86 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


rail,  being  a  considerable  distance  above  the  point  at  which  the  railroad  enters 
its  valley.  They  are  said  to  be  more  impressive  even  than  the  famous  Cascades 
on  the  lower  river,  there  being  a  perpendicular  fall  of  twenty  feet,  and  then 
swift  rapids  between  rocky  banks  of  quartz  and  porphyry.  It  is  on  the  upper 
river,  also,  that  there  occur  the  Little  Dalles,  where  the  waters  tear  through  a 
contracted  channel  with  terrific  force,  constituting,  at  least  at  high  water,  an 
impassable  barrier  to  navigation. 

From  VVallula  to  within  a  few  miles  of  Portland,  a  twelve  hours'  ride,  the 
tourist  enjoys  an  uninterrupted  succession  of  views  of  that  superb  scenery 


MOUNT  HOOD -FROM  THE  HEAD  OF  THE  DALLES,  COLUMBIA  RIVER,  OREGON. 

which  has  given  the  Columbia  river  its  world-wide  reputation.  Never  for  more 
than  a  few  moments  does  he  lose  sight  of  its  mighty  flood, — now  flowing  onward 
with  all  the  majesty  of  the  lower  Mississippi,  and  now  surging  through  the 
rocky  barriers  that  impede  its  course  ;  here  confined  within  lofty  basaltic  walls, 
there  inclosing  numerous  beautifully  wooded  islands  ;  and  here  again  marked 
by  long  stretches  of  bare  »,  hite  sand  driven  continually  by  the  unceasing  winds. 
For  some  miles  west  of  VVallula  the  banks  of  the  river  are  low,  and  possess  no 
special  object  of  interest.  It  is  not.  indeed,  until  he  reaches  the  Great  Dalles 
that  the  tourist  sees  any  indication  of  the  magnificent  scenery  he  is  approaching.. 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


3? 


There,  however,  he  has  his  first  glimpse  of  the  queenly  Mount  Hood, 
whose  snowy  peak,  soaring  1 1,225  ^^^'^  above  the  sea,  stands  out  sharply  against 
the  sky  at  a  distance  of  thirty-five  miles.  The  Dalles  themselves,  scarcely 
noticeable,  except  when  the  river  is  at  flood,  constitute  one  of  the  most  curious 
and  interesting  sights  in  the  world, — nothing  less  than  that  of  the  mighty 
Columbia  turned  on  edge.  Here,  within  a  gorge  so  narrow  that  a  child  may 
fling  a  pebble  from  bank  to  bank,  is  confined  the  greatest  river  of  the  Northwest. 
The  chasm  through  which  it  flows  has  never  been  fathomed,  and  can  only  be 
approximately  determined  by  an  inversion  of  the  grand  proportions  of  the  river 
where  it  flows  through  its  ordinary  channel. 

At  Dalles  City,  the  eastern  terminus  of  navigation  on  the  middle  river,  the 
tourist  finds  himself  in  an  attractive  town  of  nearly  forty  years'  growth.  Here 
he  may  with  advantage  make  a  brief  stay,  resuming  his  journey  either  by  train 
or  by  steamer,  the  fine  boats  of  the  Oregon  Railway  &:  Navigation  Company 
plying  daily  between  this  city  and  Portland.  From  the  heights  commanding 
the  town,  magnificent  views  are  to  be  obtained.  Mount  Hood  looming  up  in  the 
southwest,  and  Mount  Adams,  another  of  the  great  peaks  of  the  Cascade  Range, 
in  the  north. 

We  have  now  left  behind  the  low-lying  shores  that  extend  for  so  many  miles 
between  the  Dalles  and  Wallula.  Henceforward  the  scenery  increases  in  inter- 
est every  mile,  the  mountains  becoming  loftier  and  more  precipitous,  the  rocky 
shores  more  rugged,  and  the  intervening  foliage  more  luxuriant. 

It  shouk'  be  stated  that  the  scenery,  especially  on  the  south  side  of  the  river, 
appears  to  much  greater  advantage  when  viewed  from  the  deck  of  a  steamer 
than  when  seen  from  the  train.  In  consideration  of  this  fact,  railway  tickets  are 
availably  by  steanK;r  without  extra  charge.  The  boat  leaving  the  Dalles  early 
in  the  morning,  there  is  a  loss  of  one  day  invol;-ed  in  taking  the  steamer  on  the 
westward  journey  ;  but,  returning  from  Portland,  the  tourist  is  able  to  reach  the 
Dalles  in  time  for  that  day's  east-bound  train. 

Forty-three  miles  from  the  Dalles  are  the  Cascades,  where  the  river  changes 
from  a  placid  lake  to  swift  rapids  and  a  foaming  torrent.  Before  the  com- 
pletion of  the  railroad  every  pound  of  freight  had  to  be  transferred,  at  this 
point,  from  a  steamer  navigating  the  river  above  this  insurmountable  barrier  to 
one  navigating  it  below,  or  vice  versd.  1  he  railway  portage  of  six  miles  on  the 
Washington  side  of  the  river  is  still  operated,  and  the  transfer  of  such  passengers 
as  choose  to  complete  their  journev  by  water  is  made  so  speedily  and  conveniently 
as  to  enhance,  rather  than  otherwise,  the  pleasure  and  interest  of  the  river  trip. 

In  view  of  the  importanc-.;  oi  the  river  as  a  free  commercial  highway,  Con- 
gress has  made  several  appropriations  for  the  construction,  at  the  Cascades,  of 
a  system  of  locks.  It  is  certainly  a  gigantic  undertaking,  and  many  years  will 
probably  elapse  before  its  completion. 

To  a  great  convulsion  of  nature,  of  whose  occurrence  there  is  abundant 
evidence,  may  be  traced  a  singular  Indian  tradition,  that  Mount  Hood  and 
Mount  Adams  formerly  stood  close  to  the  river,  connected  by  a  natural  bridge. 


in 


88 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


ir  i 


The  mountains,  so  goes  the  story,  becoming  angry  with  each  other,  threvir 
out  fire,  ashes  and  stones,  and  so  demolished  the  bridge,  chokirg  the  river, 
which  had  previously  been  navigable.  The  present  remoteness  ot  the  mountains 
is  attributed  to  the  anger  of  the  Great  Spirit,  who  hurled  thc;m  thus  far  as'.mder. 
Both,  in  common  with  other  peaks  of  the  Cascade  Range,  are  extinct  volcanoes; 
and  the  Indian  tradition  may  have  its  origin  either  in  some  great  er.  ptici'  i.r 
in  some  sudden  movement  of  what  is  known  as  the  sliding  mountai/i  ■  ,.•  .ia 
mense  mass  of  basaltic  rock  gradually  wearing  its  ^/ay  toward  the  river 

After  gazing  in  admiration  at  the  fine  scenery  surrounding  the  Cascades,  the 
tourist  will  scarcely  be  prepared  for  the  announcement  that  the  grandest  of  all  is 
yet  to  come.  But,  after  leaving  Bonneville,  not  only  is  the  general  effect  grander 
and  more  imposing,  but  the  objects  of  special  interest  are  more  numerous. 
Here  it  is  that  the  advantage  of  making  the  trip  by  steamer  is  most  apparent ; 
for,  let  the  train  travel  ever  so  slowly,  it  is  impossible  for  even  the  most  quick- 
sighted  traveler  to  take  in  all  the  points  of  interest  that  crowd  one  upon  another. 

On  the  north  side  is  Castle  Rock,  rising  abruptly  from  the  water's  edge  a 
thousand  feet  or  more.  Farther  down  the  river,  also  on  the  north  side,  is  Cape 
Horn,  an  imposing  basaltic  cliff  projecting  into  the  water.  On  the  south  side 
there  descend  from  the  lofty  perpendicular  walls  that  frown  upon  the  river  for 
many  miles,  numerous  waterfalls,  of  indescribable  beauty.  Here  is  the  lovely 
Oneonta,  600  feet  of  silver  ribbon,  floating  from  the  dizzy  height.  A  few 
moments  more,  and  we  are  opposite  the  still  more  beautiful  Multnomah  Fall,^ 
which  has  a  descent  of  no  less  than  820  feet.  At  this  point  the  train  stops 
fifteen  minutes  to  enable  passengers  to  ascend  to  the  rustic  bridge,  there  to 
enjoy  the  best  possible  view  of  this  incomparable  fall,  and  its  wondrouaiy 
beautiful  setting,  contrasting  so  strikingly  with  the   wild   scenery  around    it. 

At  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  two  gigantic  columns  of  rock,  one  on  either  side 

the   track,   and   forming,   as   it  were,  the  western  gateway  to  this  marvelous. 

region,  the   railroad   leaves  the  river,  and  runs  right  on  to    Portland.     The 

steamer  continues   its   course,  past   the   beaut'^ul   city  of  Vancouver,  to  the 

mouth  of  the  Willamette   river,  by  which   great   tributary   of   the   Columbia, 

it  soon  reaches 

PORTLAND. 

Its  phenomenal  growth,  its  commanding  position  on  one  of  the  great  water- 
ways of  the  continent,  its  wealth,  commerce  and  enterprise,  and  the  singular 
natural  beauty  of  its  situation,  render  the  capital  of  '.'■•e  Pacii'u  Northwest  one 
of  the  mcjst  attractive  cities  on  the  American  contine;  c. 

Fifteen  years  ago  Portland  contained  a  population  of  1,103.  By  1880  the 
construction  of  the  western  section  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  and  the 
approaching  completion  of  the  great  transcontinental  system,  had  so  stimulated 
the  growth  of  the  city  that  its  population  had  increased  to  17,577.  To-day  it 
is  estimated  at  30,000,  or,  including  the  suburbs  of  East  Portland  and  Albina,  at 
40,000,  and  a  handsomer  city  of  its  size  can  not  be  found  in  the  United  States. 

In  everything  that  distinguishes  a  great  metropolitan  city,  the  progress  of 


threw 

river, 

ntains 

.mder. 

anots; 
•    or 


1 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


39 


Portland  has  been  even  more  remarkable  than  the  rapid  growth  of  its  population. 
The  handsome  business  blocks  that  line  its  principal  streets  bear  witness  to  the 
magnitude  of  its  trade  and  commerce,  while  its  churches,  schools  and  other 
public  buildings  testify  to  the  high  moral  tone  and  refined  taste  of  its  citizens. 

Although  one  hundred  miles  from  the  coast,  Portland,  like  London,  Rotter- 
dam and  Antwerp,  is  virtually  a  seaport,  and  its  growth  and  progress  are  based 
upon  the  solid  foundations  of  its  natural  advantages.  Loading  at  its  wharves, 
or  riding  at  anchor  on  the  broad  bosom  of  the  river,  may  be  seen,  not  only 
river  craft  of  all  sorts  and  sizes,  but  ocean-going  vessels  of  3,000  tons.  When 
the  great  wheat  crop  of  Oregon  is  in  course  of  shipment  to  Europe,  there  may 
be  seen  a  fleet  of  as  fine  merchantmen  as  can  be  found  in  the  world.  The 
salmon  exports  alone,  for  the  year  ending  August  i,  1886,  required  120  large 
vessels,  having  a  total  capacity  of  about  as  many  thousand  tons.  The  total 
value  of  the  exports  to  foreign  countries  for  the  year  just  mentioned,  was 
$5,857,057,  and  that  of  domestic  exports  $6,699,776,  making  a  grand  total  of 
$12,556,833.  In  addition  to  several  hundred  thousand  tons  of  wheat,  and  the 
120  ship  loads  of  salmon  already  mentioned,  the  exports  from  the  Columbia 
river  included  over  eleven  million  pounds  of  wool,  over  two  million  pounds  of 
hides,  nearly  five  and  one-half  million  pounds  of  hops,  and  twenty-nine  million 
pounds  of  potatoes. 

Portland  is  said  to  number  among  its  merchant  princes  twenty-one  million- 
aires, and  certainly  there  are  few  cities  whose  private  residences  are  more 
strikingly  indicative  of  wealth  and  refinement.  The  picturesque  surroundings 
of  the  city  render  it  an  exceedingly  desirabl'^  place  of  residence.  From  the  sum- 
mit of  Robinson's  Hill  a  view  that  it  is  no  extravagance  to  pronounce  one  of  the 
finest  in  the  world  may  be  obtained.  At  one's  feet  lies  the  city,  nestled  in  rich 
foliage.  Stretching  away,  for  many  miles,  from  where  their  waters  unite  in  one 
common  flood,  may  be  seen  the  Columbia  and  Willamette  rivers.  But  above 
all,  bounded  only  by  the  limits  of  the  horizon,  is  the  great  Cascade  Range,  with 
all  its  glittering  peaks.  On  the  extreme  right,  seventy-eight  miles  distant,  as 
the  crow  flies,  is  seen  the  snowy  crown  of  Mount  Jefferson  ;  across  the  river, 
fifty-one  miles  distant,  rises  Mount  Hood,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  mountains 
on  the  coast,  and  the  pride  and  glory  of  Oregon  ;  to  the  northeast  stand  out 
the  crests  of  Mount  Adams  and  Mount  St.  Helens,  and  in  the  same  direction, 
but  one  hundred  miles  away,  may  be  descried  the  great  Tacoma,  the  grandest 
mountain  on  the  Pacific  slope.  All  these  five  peaks  are  radiait  with  eternal 
■snow,  and  it  may  well  be  imagined  that  the  effect  of  the  uplifting  of  their  giant 
forms  against  the  clear  blue  sky  is  grand  in  the  extreme. 

Tourists  coming  northward  from  San  Francisco  have  the  choice  of  two 
routes  and  two  modes  of  travel.  They  may  either  take  one  of  the  fine  steamers 
of  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Company,  sailing  every  fourdays,  and 
performing  the  voyage  in  from  sixty  to  seventy-two  hours,  or  they  may  travel 
overland  by  the  Oregon  &  California  Railroad,  a  line  that  traverses  not  only 
the  most  fruitful  plains,  but  also  the  most  beautiful  valleys,  of  this  rich  State. 


::  il 
11! 


40 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


ill 


For  the  benefit  of  such  travelers,  and  also  in  view  of  the  possibility  of  there 
being  those  who,  both  coming  and  returning  by  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad, 
would  like  to  ^it^'t  the  garden  of  Oregon,  and,  if  possible,  obtain  a  glimpse  of 
Mount  Shasta,  r  r  ^'  ^  ot  be  out  of  place  to  give  a  brief  description  of  the  line 
extending  southw.  m  Portland  to  the  southern  boundary  of  the  State. 

For  upward  ot  e  hundred  miles  our  route  lies  along  the  Willamette 
valley.  This  is  the  largest  valley  in  the  State,  being  150  miles  in  length,  with 
an  average  width  of  fifty  miles.  Inclosed  on  the  east  side  by  the  Cascade 
Mountains,  and  on  the  west  by  the  Coast  Range,  it  contains  an  area  of  about 
four  and  one-half  million  acres  of  rich  and  beautiful  land.  Some  of  the  pleas- 
antest  towns  in  the  Northwest  are  to  be  found  in  this  valley. 

First  comes  Oregon  City,  sixteen  miles  from  Portland ;    thi^  is  the  oldest 


FLOATING  FISH  WHEEL,  ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER,  OREGON. 

town  in  Oregon.  It  is  situated  just  below  the  beauti- 
ful falls  of  the  Willamette,  amid  highly  picturesque 
scenery.  Its  chief  interest  for  the  tourist  centres  in  the 
falls,  which  represent  a  force  of  over  a  million  horse  power,  or  about  eight  times 
that  of  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony.  They  may  be  seen  a  few  hundred  yards  south 
of  the  station,  on  the  west  side  of  the  track.  Hitherto  there  has  been  seen  no 
considerable  extent  of  fertile  country ;  but  in  Barlow's  prairie  there  appears 
a  fine  tract  of  agricultural  land  inclosed  by  tributaries  of  the  Willamette. 
^Others  succeed  it,  and  soon  good  homesteads,  surrounded  by  shade  trees  and 
orchards,  are  seen  in  every  direction.  The  next  town  of  importance  is  Salem, 
the  State  capital,  beautifully  situated  on  the  sloping  banks  of  the  river.  The 
Capitol,  and  other  State  buildings,  may  be  seen  from  the  train;  and  the  entire 
city,  with  its  broad  streets  and  fine  oak  groves,  presents  a  pleasing  appearance. 
The  twenty-eight  miles  intervening  between  Salem  and  Albany  afford  some 
fine  views  of  the  Cascade  Range,  Mount  Hood  being  visible  at  a  distance  of 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


41 


there 
Iroad, 
3se  of 
e  line 

mette 
with 
scade 
about 
pleas- 
oldest 


seventy  miles,  and  the  nearer  southern  peaks  in  still  bolder  outline.  Eugene 
City,  123  miles  from  Portland,  is  also  charmingly  situated  and  finely  laid  out 
on  the  edge  of  a  broad,  rich  prairie  overlooked  by  a  ridge  of  low  hills.  Its 
geographical  position,  at  the  head  of  navigation,  commands  for  it  the  trade  of 
a  large  section  of  country.  It  is  also  the  seat  of  the  State  University,  and  is 
itherwise  an  educational  centre  of  great  importance. 

In  the  course  of  the  next  seventy-four  miles  the  railroad  ascends  about 
2,000  feet  to  Roseburg,  the  judicial  seat  of  Douglas  county,  traversed  by 
another  of  the  famous  valleys  of  Oregon,  that  of  the  Umpqua.  This  was 
formerly  a  great  stock  country;  but  its  pastures  have  gradually  disappeared 
before  the  plow,  and  cattle  have  given  way  to  grain.  It  is,  moreover,  a  fine 
fruit  growing  region.  The  tourist  is  now  approaching  those  intricate  valleys 
which  have  made  this  line  of  railway  from  Roseburg  to  its  terminus  at  Ashland 
at  once  so  costly  and  so  picturesque. 

Cow  Creek  Canon,  so  winding  that  thirty-five  miles  of  track  had  to  be  laid 
to  attain  twelve  miles  of  actual  distance,  abounds  with  wild  and  beautiful 
scenery.  From  the  valley  of  the  Umpqua,  the  railroad  passes  into  that  of  the 
Rogue  river,  in  Josephine  county.  This  county  is  equally  famed  for  its  natural 
beauty,  its  healthful  climate  and  the  wonderful  productiveness  of  its  soil. 
■Grains,  fruits  and  vegetables  of  every  description,  yield  prodigiously,  and  their 
•quality  is  not  to  be  surpassed. 

The  great  attractions  of  the  county  for  the  tourist  are  the  two  limestone 
•caves  situated  thirty  miles  south  of  Grant's  Pass,  and  fifteen  miles  east  of 
Kerbyville.  There  is  said  to  be  a  good  wagon  road  from  the  latter  place  to 
within  five  miles  of  these  caves,  and  arrangements  are  in  progress  for  the  early 
•completion  of  the  road.  According  to  an  official  publication  of  the  county, 
there  is  another  route,  vid  Williams  Creek,  by  wagon  road,  to  within  eight 
miles  of  the  caves,  and  thence,  by  a  mountain  trail,  on  horseback.  The  scenery 
along  this  route  is  stated  to  be  grand  beyond  description,  embracing  many  of  the 
lovely  valleys  of  this  charming  county,  and,  in  the  distance,  the  snow-capped 
mountains  of  the  Cascade  Range,  terminating  in  the  tremendous  peak  of  Mount 
Shasta.  The  caves  themselves  consist  each  of  a  series  of  chambers,  adorned 
with  beautiful  stalactites  of  prismatic  colors,  and  other  curious  and  delicate 
formations,  presenting  exquisite  patterns,  and  sparkling  with  the  lustre  of 
diamonds. 

At  Ashland,  341  miles  from  Portland,  the  tourist  arrives  at  the  southern 
terminus  of  the  road.  Connection  is  made  with  the  California  and  Oregon 
Railroad  at  Montague,  California,  by  stage.  It  is  expected  that  the  California 
and  Oregon  Railroad  will  be  completed  to  Ashland  by  August  ist,  after  which 
through  trains  will  run  between  Portland  and  San  Francisco  daily. 

No  tourist  should  return  East  without  first  taking  a  trip  down  the 

LOWER  COLUMBIA 

to  Astoria,  that  city  of  most  interesting  historical  associations,  and  no  little  actual 


1 


42 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


importance  in  these  stirring  days  of  trade  and  manufactures.  Admirably 
appointed  steamers,  malcing  fast  time,  run  daily  between  Portland  and  Astoria. 
The  trip  need  not,  therefore,  occupy  more  than  two  days.  The  distance  from 
Portland  to  the  point  at  which  the  Willamette  discharges  itself  into  the  Colum- 
bia, is  twelve  miles,  in  the  course  of  which  opportunity  is  afforded  for  observ- 
ing the  progress  being  made  by  the  city  in  its  manufacturing  and  other 
enterprises.  The  busy  wharves  are  also  passed,  and  the  stately  ships  riding 
at  anchor. 

After  the  first  few  miles  of  the  Columbia  the  tourist  may  be  surprised  to  find 


\ 


MOUNT  TACOMA. 

that  the  scenery  of  the  lower  river  is  far  from  being  tame  or  monotonous.  The 
river  itself  winds  considerably  for  so  great  a  body  of  water  ;  the  forest,  too,  is 
luxuriant,  and  the  hillsides  are  covered  with  heavy  fir;  numerous  islands  occur 
at  intervals,  wooded  and  exceedingly  pretty.  Where  the  river  h.is  worked  its 
way  through  the  Coast  Mountains,  the  scenery,  though  not  so  abrupt,  stern  or 
impressive  as  that  of  the  middle  Columbia,  presents  many  fine  effects,  the  lofty 
walls  of  the  river  being  surmounted  by  hills  of  considerable  altitude. 

Not  far  from  Columbia  City,  on  the  north  or  Washington  bank  of  the  stream, 
is  an  island  rock  known  as  Mount  Coffin,  and  formerly  an  Indian  place  of 
sepulture.     Here  the  tribes  deposited  the   bodies  of  their  noted  chiefs  and 


[ably 
loria. 
from 
|lum- 
serv- 
Jther 
[ding 

find 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


43- 


The 
30,  is 
)ccur 
d  its 
n  or 
lofty 

earn, 

;e  of 

and 


warriors.     In  his  canoe,  previously  rendered  useless,  and  with   his  bow  andf 
arrows,  the  dead  hero  was  here  laid  to  rest. 

After  passing  Kalama,  the  tourist  comes  upon  some  of  the  great  canning 
establishments,  which  before  long  are  passed  at  such  short  intervals  that  they 
.seem  to  line  the  north  bank,  on  which  most  of  them  are  situated. 

The  fisheries  of  the  Columbia  rjver  are  almost  as  famous  as  its  scenery. 
The  canning  industry,  which  was  first  established  in  1866,  has  within  the  last 
few  years  attained  great  importance.  Producing  the  first  year  some  4,000  cases, 
representing,  at  the  high  price  they  commanded,  $16  per  case,  a  total  value  of 
$64,000,  it  has  steadily  increased  its  product,  until  now  it  has  reached  upward 
of  half  a  million  cases.  The  catch  of  1885,  which  was  524,530  cases,  fell  short 
of  that  of  1884  by  132,000  cases,  in  consequence  of  the  markets  of  the  world 
being  temporarily  overstocked.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  supply  should  at  all. 
exceed  the  demand,  when  the  gigantic  extent  of  the  industry  is  taken  into  con- 
sideration. The  great  perfection  to  which  the  methods  employed  in  capturing 
the  salmon  have  been  brought,  is  probably  accountable  for  the  recent  glut  in 
the  market.  Among  the  most  effective  contrivances  for  the  purpose,  is  the 
floating  fish-wheel,  by  means  of  which  the  fish  are  literally  scooped  up  out  of 
the  water  in  shoals.  The  industry  gives  employment  to  1,500  boats,  3,000  fish- 
ermen, and  1,000  factory  hands,  the  latter  principally  Chinese.  The  canning 
season  is  from  April  ist  to  July  31st,  when  the  lower  Columbia  is  alive  with, 
fishing  boats,  and  the  canneries  are  in  full  operation. 

As  we  approach  Astoria,  the  river  widens  out  into  a  broad  estuary,  some 
seven  miles  across.  Here  is  Tongue  Point,  a  bold  headland  running  out  into- 
the  river  from  the  Oregon  shore. 

In  a  beautiful  bay  between  this  point  and  Point  Adams,  is  Astoria,  built 
partly  on  piles,  and  partly  on  the  shelving  hills.  For  the  story  of  its  early 
history,  of  the  arrival  of  John  Jacob  Astor's  trading  ship,  "  Tonquin,"  and  of  its 
subsequent  British  occupancy,  the  reader  is  referred  to  Washington  Irving's 
delightful  volume.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  it  is  to-day  an  exceedingly  inter- 
esting city  to  visit,  not  more  on  account  of  its  being  the  oldest  British  settle- 
ment m  the  Northwest,  and  the  central  figure  in  the  salmon  fishing  of  the 
Columbia  river,  than  for  the  novelty  of  its  construction. 

Its  busy  wharves  and  abundant  shipping  proclaim  it  a  seaport  of  consider- 
able importance,  requiring  only  a  railroad  or  the  removal  of  the  barriers  to  the 
navigation  of  the  middle  Columbia,  to  make  it  a  great  city. 

Opposite  Point  Adams  is  Cape  Hancock,  formerly  known  as  Cape  Disap- 
pointment. On  the  sea-coast,  both  on  the  Washington  side,  north  of  Cape  Han- 
cock, and  on  the  Oregon  side,  south  of  Point  Adams,  are  various  summer 
resorts  attracting  crowds  of  visitors  during  the  season.  On  the  VVashington 
shore  is  Ilwaco,  beautifully  situated  on  the  north  shore  of  Baker's  Bay,  with, 
a  long,  crescent-shaped  beach  of  fine,  white  sand  slopinp'  to  the  water,  and 
heavily  wooded  hills  in  the  rear.  This  growing  place,  wi  h  its  hotels,  stores, 
church  and  school  house,  is  rapidly  growing  in  popularity.     Steamers  meet  the; 


i! 


44 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


»i 


Portland  boat  at  Astoria,  where  passengers  are  transferred  without  inconvenience 
•or  delay.  They  call,  both  going  and  returning,  at  Cape  Hancock,  affording 
tourists  an  opportunity  of  visiting  Fort  Canby,  and  the  great  light-house,  from 
which  there  is  one  of  the  most  extensive  and  magnificent  views  on  the  entire 
Pacific  coast.  On  the  Oregon  shore  of  the  ocean  are  Clatsop  Beach,  where 
there  are  good  hotel  accommodations  and  excellent  hunting  and  fishing,  and  a 
popular  resort  known  as  Seaside,  boasting'a  multitude  of  attractions,  including 
a  fine  ocean  beach  and  a  trout  creek.  Should  the  tourist  be  unable  to  make 
a  long  stay  at  any  of  these  places,  he  ought  at  least  to  pay  them  a  brief  visit, 
if  only  to  cross  the  great  bar  of  the  river,  and  to  see  where  its  mighty  flood 
•discharges  itself  into  the  ocean  at  the  rate  of  1,000,000  gallons  per  second. 

The  climate  of  this  section  is  exceedingly  humid;  but  its  summers  are 
delightful.  Its  rainfall  is  mostly  in  winter,  when  it  is  both  heavy  and  con- 
tinuous. It  is  said,  that,  if  a  barrel,  with  the  two  ends  taken  out,  be  placed 
upon  its  side  with  the  bung-hole  uppermost,  the  rain  will  enter  by  that  small 
aperture  faster  than  it  can  run  out  at  the  two  ends.  For  this  story,  however, 
the  writer  can  not  vouch,  any  more  than  for  that  of  the  recent  visitor  to  the 
National  Park,  who  is  said  to  have  caught,  in  one  of  the  lakes  of  that  remark- 
able region,  a  fish  so  large  that,  upon  his  dragging  it  ashore,  the  water  of  the 

Jake  fell  six  inches. 

TO    PUGET    SOUND. 

The  tourist  has  now  become  more  or  less  familiar  with  the  natural  features 
and  resources,  of  that  great  country  lying  between  the  Snake  river  and  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  and  between  the  Columbia  river  and  the  Siskiyou  Mountains. 

There  remains  only  Western  Washington,  with  its  extensive  forests,  its  rich 
•coal  mines,  its  hop  gardens,  and  its  far-famed  inland  sea,  on  which  he  is  to 
•embark  on  his  voyage  to  the  great  land  of  the  far  North.  The  Pacific  division 
•of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  follows  the  Willamette  river  from  Portland  to 
its  confluence  with  the  Columbia,  and  the  latter  river  from  that  point  to 
Kalama,  where  trains  are  conveyed  across  the  river  by  the  finest  transfer  boat 
in  the  world,  built  expressly  for  the  railroad  company,  and  constructed  to  carry 
•thirty  cars  at  one  time.  From  Kalama  the  track  strikes  almost  directly  north- 
ward for  Puget  Sound,  passing  through  long  stretches  of  dense  forest,  but  also 
intersecting  a  tract  of  country  containing  a  larger  area  of  fertile  agricultural 
land  than  is  contained  in  any  other  county  in  Western  Washington. 

The  chief  towns  of  this  region  are  Chehalis  and  Centralia,  and  they  give 
•evidence  of  thrift  and  prosperity.  But  the  attention  of  the  tourist  as  he 
travels  onward  is  largely  occupied  with  the  magnificent  peaks  of  the  Cascade 
Range,  whose  forms  of  dazzling  whiteness  constitute,  with  their  background  of 
•deepest  blue  and  the  dark  forests  which  clothe  their  base,  r  1  cture  of  marvelous 
beauty.  ,  For  more  than  one  hundred  miles  after  we  icave  Portland,  there 
looms  up  behind  us  the  graceful  contour  of  Mount  Hood,  while  to  the  east  are 
seen  at  intervals  the  majestic  forms  of  Mount  St.  Helens  and  Mount  Adams. 

But  the  grandest  scene  of  all  is  yet  to  come.     After  leaving  Tenino,  there 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


45 


;nce 
ding 
rom 
ntire 
here 
id  a 
ding 
nai<e 
,-isit, 
lood 


is  a  revelation  of  almost  unequaled  grandeur  in  the  view  of  Mount  Tacoma^ 
the  loftiest  peak  of  the  entire  range.  If  Mount  Hood  can  claim  to  be  consid- 
ered, as  is  generally  admitted,  the  most  graceful  and  beautiful  mountain  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  Mount  Tacoma  can  certainly  claim  to  be  the  most  majestic  and 
sublime.  Towering  14,444  feet  above  sea-level,  and  thus  exceeding  by  more 
than  3,000  feet  the  height  of  any  other  mountain  in  Washington  or  Oregon, 
it  seems  to  rear  its  massive  head  close  to  the  very  battlements  of  heaven.  No 
other  mountam,  even  in  the  Yellowstone  National  Park  or  in  the  main  range  of 
the  Rockies,  will  have  produced  so  great  an  impression  upon  the  traveler  as  will 
the  mighty  Tacoma.  As  he  gazes  at  its  majestic  form,  he  is  inclined  to  doubt 
whether  there  is  in  the  whole  world  one  that  could  establish  a  better  claim  to 


universal  sovereignty.  In  lines  that  will  live  as  long  as  the  English  language  it- 
self, Byron  declared  Mont  Blanc  the  monarch  of  mountains.  But  Byron  never 
saw  the  matchless  Tacoma.  It,  too,  has  its  throne  of  rocks,  its  diadem  of  snow, 
and,  though  less  frequently  than  Mont  Blanc,  its  robe  of  clouds,  an  adjunct  of 
doubtful  advantage  except  in  the  exigencies  of  versification. 

Mount  Tacoma  has,  embedded  in  its  mighty  bosom,  no  fewer  than  fifteen 
glaciers,  three  of  which  have  been  rendered  accessible  to  visitors.  Comparing 
them  with  the  glaciers  of  the  Alps,  Senator  Edmunds,  of  Vermont,  declares  that 
the  finest  effects  he  witnessed  during  the  course  of  a  long  tour  in  Switzerland, 
fell  far  short  of  what  he  saw  on  his  visit  to  Mount  Tacoma.  At  the  great  hotel, 
at  Tacoma  City,  guides  and  camping  outfits  are  always  obtainable.     Excursion 


■p 


46 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


parties  are  frequently  made  up  during  the  summer  season,  the  trip  being  entirely 
free  from  difficulty  or  danger,  even  to  ladies. 

The  time  occupied  in  making  the  journey  is  six  days,  and  the  cost  $50  to 
•each  person — guides  furnishing  every  requisite,  such  as  horses,  food  and  shelter. 

First  day  : — By  rail  to  Wilkeson,  31  miles  distant,  and  there  taking  horses, 
the  journey  to  cj  np  "  A,"  1 1  miles  distant,  can  easily  be  made  by  evening. 

Second  day  : — Through  to  final  camping  place.  Crater  Lake,  altitude  5,800 
feet,  18  miles  from  camp  "y4."  Surrounded  on  three  sides  by  volcanic  igneous 
rock,  ranging  from  1,000  to  2,000  feet  in  height,  its  waters  reach  to  an  almost 
unfathomable  depth,  till  striking  their  outlet  at  Hendrickson  Falls. 

Third  day  : — Excursion  to  Eagle  Cliff,  on  the  edge  of  Pu/allup  Canon,  3,000 
feet  in  depth,  and  return  to  camp  at  Crater  Lake. 

Fourth  day  : — The  final  ascent  of  the  mountain,  taking  in  route  Lace  Falls 
and  Carbon  River  Glacier  to  Observatory  Point — the  highest  attainable  eleva- 
tion from  the  north  side  of  Tacoma.  Between  this  summit  and  that  of  the 
mountain  there  stretches  a  vast  canon  of  2,000  feet  in  depth,  and  from  thence 
looking  northerly  are  seen  the  vast  glaciers  of  the  Carbon  and  Puyallup. 

Fifth  day  :— Return  to  Camp  "^." 

Sixth  day : — Return  to  Tacoma. 

It  is  at  the  city  of  Tacoma  that  the  tourist  first  looks  over  the  blue  waters 
■  of  Puget  Sound.  This  is  the  western  terminus  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Rail- 
road. Occupying  a  commanding  position  upon  a  high  plateau  overlooking 
Admiralty  Inlet,  Tacoma  has  an  excellent  harbor,  capable  of  receiving  the 
largest  ocean-going  vessels.  It  has  also  some  fine  public  buildings,  among  them 
being  the  Anna  Wright  Seminary  for  girls,  a  monument  of  the  beneficence  of 
Mr.  C.  B.  Wright,  of  Philadelphia.  Its  luxuriously  furnished  hotel,  the  Tacoma, 
•erected  at  a  cost  of  $200,000,  occupies  one  of  the  finest  sites  in  the  world, 
overlooking,  as  it  does,  the  picturesque  shores  of  the  bay,  and  commanding  a 
magnificent  view  of  the  imperial  mountain. 

A  few  miles  northward  is  Seattle,  also  with  an  excellent  harbor,  and  the 
promise  of  becoming  a  city  of  great  importance,  an  extensive  section  of  rich 
country  being  naturally  tributary  to  it. 

The  Cascade  division  of  the  railroad,  extending  eastward  from  Tacoma,  is 
•  developing  a  very  rich  bituminous  coal  country.  This  line  also  reaches  the  fine 
hop-growing  country  of  the  Puyallup  valley. 

But  never  was  the  tourist  less  disposed  than  now  to  concern  himself  with 
..agricultural  or  commercial  statistics.  With  eager  expectation,  impatient  of 
delay,  he  is  hastening  toward  that  veritable  Wonderland  of  the  World  that  con- 
stitutes the  Mecca  of  his  pilgrimage.  He  is  about  to  enter  upon  the  final  stage 
■of  his  long  journey,  in  that  far-famed  Inland  Passage,  whose  incomparable 
scenery,  extending  in  one  unbroken  chain  for  more  than  a  thousand  miles,  alone 
surpasses  those  stupendous  works  of  Nature  upon  which  he  has  so  recently 
.gazed.  John  Hyde. 


ALAS-KA   AUD  the   iNLAfID  PASSAGE. 


^AN  travels  for  business  and  pleasure.     The  former  can  be 
f^  easily  described,  by  a  slight   interpolation    in  a  well- 
known  mathematical  definition,  as  "the  shortest  dis- 
tance and  quickest  time  between  two  points."     The 
latter  bears  to  this  mathematical  rectilinear  exactness 
the  relation  of  the  curves, — Hogarth's  "  line  of  beauty," 
the  rotund  circle  and  graceful  sweep  of  the  Archimedean 
spiral,  and  bends  of  beauty  beyond  computation  ;  and, 
as  any  of  these  are  more  pleasing  to  the  eye  than  the 
stiff  straight  line,  so  any  tourist's  jaunt  is  more  pleasing 
to  all  the  senses  than  the  business  man's  travels.     But,  as  all 
straight  lines  are  alike,  and  all  curves  are  different,  so  are  their 
■^  equivalents  in  travel,  to  which  we  have  alluded.     One  tourist, 

as  a  Nimrod,  dons  his  hunting  shirt  and  high-topped  boots,  and,  seeking  the 
solemn  recesses  of  the  Rockies,  slays  the  grizzly  ;.  :J  mountain  lion,  and  thus 
has  his  "good  time;"  another  drives  through  t;.  ^rand  old  gorges  of  the 
Yellowstone  Park,  and  the  deep  impressions  left  by  a  lofty  nature  are  his  ample 
rewards ;  and  yet  again,  where  physical  exertion  is  to  be  avoided  by  delicate 
ones  or  those  averse  to  its  peculiarities,  one  may  float  down  the  distant 
Columbia,  with  its  colossal  contours,  and.  without  even  lifting  a  finger  to  aid 
one's  progress,  view  as  vast  and  stupendous  scenery  as  the  world  can  produce. 
Thus  each  place  suits  each  varying  disposition,  from  the  most  roystering 
"  roughing  it,"  developing  the  muscles  in  mighty  knots,  to  where  the  most 
ponderous  panorama  of  nature  may  be  enjoyed  from  a  moving  mansion,  as  it 
were.  Could  we  conceive  a  place  where  all  these  advantages  would  be  united 
into  one,  or  where  one  after  the  other  might  be  indulged  at  pleasure,  we  would 
certainly  have  a  tourists'  paradise,  an  ever-to-be-sought  and  never-to-be-for- 
gotten nook  of  creation.  Such  a  tour  is  to  be  encountered  on  "  the  inland 
passage  to  Alaska,"  as  it  is  called  by  those  knowing  it  best. 

In  this  rough,  rocky  region.  Nature  has  been  prodigal  of  both  land  and 
water, — making  the  former  high  and  picturesque,  and  the  latter  deep  and  navi- 
gable, and  running   in  all  directions   through  the   other,  apparently  for  the 

(47) 


48 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


purpose  that  it  might  be  easily  viewed.  From  the  northwest  corner  of  Wash- 
ington Territory,  through  all  of  the  coast  line  of  British  Columbia,  anJ  along 
Alaska's  shores  to  the  long-cast  shadows  of  Mount  St.  Ellas,  stretches  for 
nearly  two  thousand  miles  a  picturesque  panorama  that  seems  as  if  the  Yellow- 
stone, the  Yosemite,  Colorado,  and  Switzerland  and  the  Alps,  were  passing  in 
review  before  the  spectator  ;  and,  when  the  greatest  northing  is  gained,  Green- 
land and  Norway  have  added  their  glacier-crowned  and  iceberg-bearing  vistas 
to  the  view.  It  looks  as  if  the  Yellowstone  National  Park  'had  sunk  into  the 
sea  until  the  valleys  were  waterways,  and  the  feet  of  the  high  mountains  had 
been  converted  into  shores.  A  grand  salt-water  river  it  is  that  stretches  from 
Puget  Sound,  itself  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  to  our  distant  colony  of  Alaska, 
a  good  round  thousand  miles,  and  whose  waters  are  as  quiet  as  an  Al  lake, 

even  though  a  fierce  gale  rage  on  the  broad  Pacific  outside. 

Beyond  the  parallel  of  Sitka,  though  the  grand  scenery  may  be  no  more 
imposing  than  that  through  which  the  tourist  will  have  passed  in  coming  from 
Washington  Territory,  he  will  find  some  of  the  curiosities  of  nature  which  are 
to  be  found  only  in  the  dreaded  frigid  zones, — icebergs  and  glaciers.  Before 
the  waters  of  Northwestern  Washington  Territory  are  out  of  sight,  great 
patches  of  snow  are  to  be  seen  on  the  highest  of  the  grand  mountains  bordering 
the  inland  passage.  These  little  white  blotches  in  the  northern  gullies  become 
larger  and  larger  as  the  excursion  steamer  wends  her  way  northward,  until  the 
loftiest  peaks  are  crowned  with  snow.  Then,  across  connecting  ridges,  they 
join  their  white  mantles  ;  and,  in  a  few  more  miles,  the  blue  ice  of  glaciers 
peeos  from  out  the  lower  edges  of  the  deep  snow.  Lower  and  lower  they 
descend  as  the  steamer  crawls  northward,  until  the  upper  parts  of  the  passage 
are  essayed,  when  they  have  come  to  the  ocean's  level,  and,  plunging  into  the 
sea,  snap  off  at  intervals,  and  float  away  as  icebergs,  some  of  them  higher  than 
the  mah;'^s  of  the  large,  commodious  steamers  that  bear  tourists  to  this  fairy-land 
of  the  frigid  zones,  if  one  can  be  allowed  such  an  expression.  Glacier  Bay, 
which  the  excursion  steamers  visit  on  their  summer  trips,  has  a  great  number  of 
these  frozen  rivers  of  ice  debouching  into  it  ;  and  its  clear,  quiet  waters, 
reflecting  the  Alpine  scenery  of  its  shores,  are  ruffled  only  by  the  breaking  of 
the  icebergs  from  the  terminal  fronts  of  the  glacier,  that  send  waves  across  its 
whole  breadth,  and  with  a  noise  like  the  firing  of  a  sea-coast  cannon.  Muir 
Glacier  is  the  greatest  of  this  grand  group,  and  surpasses  anything  nearer  than 
the  polar  zones  themselves.  There  is  no  use  in  going  into  mathemitical  meas- 
urements,— its  two  and  three  hundred  feet  in  height  and  its  breadth  of  several 
miles  ;  for  they  but  feebly  represent  its  grandeur,  the  deep  impressions  that  fig- 
ures can  not  measure  when  viewing  this  frozen  Niagara  of  the  North.  Not  until 
the  blue  Adriatic  has  pierced  its  way  into  the  heart  of  the  high  Alps,  or  some 
ocean  inlet  has  invaded  the  valleys  of  the  vast  Yellowstone  Park,  will  we  ever 
have  an  equivalent  to  this  display  of  Nature's  noblest  efforts  in  scenic  effects. 
Were  the  other  scenery  as  monotonous  as  the  ceaseless  plains,  a  visit  to  the 
Alaskan  glaciers  and  icebergs  would  well  repay  any  one's  time  and  effort ;  but„ 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


49 


when  the  tourist  travels  through  the  greatest  Wonderland  of  the  wide  West  to 
reach  these  curious  sights,  he  or  she  will  be  paid  over  and  over  tenfold. 

So  far  everything  may  be  seen  from  the  decks  of  an  elegant  steamer ;  but, 
should  the  tourist  want  a  little  "  roughing  it,"  let  him  stop  over  in  Glacier  Bay, 
from  one  steamer's  visit  to  another,  two  weeks  to  a  month  apart,  and  clamber 
over  the  glaciers  and  row  around  among  the  icebergs  to  his  heart's  content,  ^nd 
until  he  almost  imagines  he  is  an  arctic  explorer.  He  will  descend  from  the 
tumbled  surface  of  the  frozen  seas  of  ice  on  the  glacier's  surface,  only  to  wade 
through  grass  up  to  his  waist,  that  waves  in  the  light  winds  like  the  pretty  pam- 
pas fields  of  South  America.  In  thes<  lields  of  grasses  he  may  pitch  his  tent, 
which,  with  a  cook  stove  and  a  month's  rations  for  each  person,  is  all  that 
is  needed,  beyond  the  baggage  of  the  other  tourists.  Hunting  is  found 
in  the  mountains  back  of  the  bay,  fish  in  the  waters,  and  small  game  in  the 
woods  near  by. 

Or,  if  longer  and  rougher  jaunts  are  wanted,  ascend  the  Lynn  Channel,  and 
then  the  Chilkat,  or  Chilkoot,  Inlet,  hiring  two  or  three  Indians  to  carry  one's 
camping  effects  on  their  backs  to  the  lakes  at  the  source  of  the  great  Yukon 
river  of  the  British  Northwest  Territory  and  Alaska, — the  third  river  of  Amer- 
ica. Going  by  the  Chilkoot  trail,  over  the  Alaskan  coast  range  of  mountains, 
which  will  furnish  Alpine  climbing  enough  to  suit  the  most  eager,  en  snow  and 
glacier  ice,  one  comes  to  a  series  of  lakes  aggregating  150  miles  in  extent ; 
and  along  these  he  may  paddle  and  return,  shooting  an  occasional  brown 
or  black  bear,  moose,  caribou  or  mountain  goat,  while  ac^uatic  life  is  every- 
where on  these  pretty  Alpine  lakes. 

Throughout  the  whole  inland  passage,  one  is  passing  now  and  then  some 
Indian  village,  of  more  or  less  imposing  appearance  and  numbers.  In  Alaska 
they  all  belong  to  a  single  great  tribe,  the  T'linkit,  bound  togeth*,'  by  a  com- 
mon language,  but  by  no  stronger  ties,  for  each  village,  or  cluster  of  villages, 
makes  a  sub-tribe,  having  no  sympathies  with  the  other,  and  they  often  war 
against  one  another. 

It  is  not  often  that  one  would  want  to  call  a  tourist's  attention  to  an  Indian 
village,  for  the  average  encampment  or  habitation  of  the  "noble  red  man"  is 
not  the  most  attractive  sight  or  study  ;  but,  in  the  T'linkit  towns,  we  have  no 
such  hesitation,  for,  in  the  curiosities  to  be  seen  in  their  houses  and  surround- 
ings, they  are  certainly  one  of  the  strangest  people  on  earth.  They  are  the 
artistic  savages  of  the  world.  In  front  of  each  log  house,  and  often  rearing  its 
head  much  higher  than  it  by  two  or  three  fold,  are  one  or  two  posts,  cilled 
"totem  poles,"  which  are  merely  logs  on  end;  but,  on  the  seaward  face,  the 
savage  sculptor  has  exhausted  all  the  resources  of  his  barbaric  imagination 
in  cutting  in  hideous  faces  and  figures,  that,  with  a  hundred  or  so  such  terrible 
"  totems  "  in  front  of  a  village,  makes  one  think  of  some  nightmare  of  his 
childish  days.  The  houses,  too,  are  carved  inside  and  out.  Every  utensil  they 
have  is  sculptured  deep  with  diabolical  but  well  executed  designs,  and  their 
spoons  of  mountain  sheep  and  goat  horn  are  marvels  of  savage  work.     All 


i, 


60 


THROUGH   WONDERLAND. 


'1-1 
(I  -I 


these  are  for  sale  to  tourists,  and  every  excursion  steamer  brings  numbers  of 
these  romantic  remembrances  of  a  yet  more  romantic  journey  back  to  civili- 
zation. 

But  the  inland  passage  to  Alaska  is  not  the  only  grand  and  picturesque  part 
of  that  great  territory  visited  by  the  excursion  steamers  ;  for  beyond  and  as  far 
as  Mount  St.  Elias,  they  often  sail  to  this  the  greatest  cluster  of  high  mountains 
on  th".  Western  Continent, — Lituya  Peak,  10,000  feet  high  ;  and  Fairweather 
and  Crillon,  a  third  taller ;  then  beyond,  Cook  and  Vancouver  cluster  near 
sublime  St.  Elias,  nearly  20,000  feet  above  the  ocean  that  thunders  at  its  base, 
and  whose  jagged  top  may  be  seen  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  sea.  How 
disappointing  are  the  Colorado  peaks  of  12,000  and  14,000  feet  to  one,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  they  spring  from  a  plain  already  6,000  to  8,000  feet  above 
sea-level,  and  seem,  as  they  are,  but  high  hills  on  a  high  plateau.  How  like 
pygmies  they  appear  to  Hood,  Tacoma,  Shasta,  and  others  not  so  high  above  the 
ocean  base  line,  but  whose  nearly  every  foot  above  sea-levei  is  in  mountP'-i 
slope.  How  grand,  then,  must  be  hoary-headed  St.  Elias,  whose  waist  is  the 
waters  of  the  wide  sea,  and  whose  20,000  feet  above  sea-level  springs  from  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  from  whose  calm  waters  we  view  its  majestic  height. 

Eu*  let  us  commence  at  the  starting  point  of  our  journey,  and  take  our  read- 
ers step  by  step  over  the  whole  route. 

For  many  years  th«  people  of  our  great  Northwest  country,  Oregon,  Wash- 
ington and  Idaho  Territories,  have  spoken  familiarly  of  "  the  Sound  "  as  one  of 
their  great  geographical  features, — in  much  the  same  way  as  the  people  of 
Southern  Connecticut  or  Long  Island  speak  of  "the  Sound," — referring 
thereby  to  Puget  Sound,  that  cuts  deep  into  the  northwestern  corner  of  Wash- 
ington Territory.  Many  have  visited  it,  and  sailed  on  its  beautiful  waters  ; 
beautiful  enough  in  themselves  or  their  own  immediate  surroundings,  but  thrice 
grand  and  gorgeous  in  their  silver  framing  of  snow-clad  peaks  and  mountain 
ranges,  surrounding  them  on  all  sides.  The  long,  narrow,  picturesque  sound,  that 
looked  not  unlike  a  Greenland  fjord,  orclosc-walled  bay  at  the  mouth  of  some 
grand  river, — one  of  those  bays  so  slowly  converging  that  a  person  can  hardly 
define  where  it  ceases  and  the  river  commences, — was  considered  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  scenic  places  of  the  Northwest ;  and  its  people  delighted  to 
show  it  to  strangers,  with  its  enhancing  surroundings,  reaching  from,  the  pret- 
tily situated  capital  of  the  Territory,  O'.ympia,  at  the  head  of  "the  sound,"  to 
where  the  broad  Juan  de  Fuca  Strait  leads  to  the  great  Pacific  Sea.  Then 
Alaska  was  known  only  as  Russian  America,  when  it  was  spoken  01  at  all,  so 
seldom  was  it  heard,  and  seemed  to  be  as  far  away  from  the  United  States  on 
that  side  of  the  continent,  and  as  little  thought  of,  as  Greenland  or  Iceland  is 
to-day  with  our  people  of  the  Atlantic  coast.  An  occasional  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  trading  boat  steamed  out  of  Victoria  harbor,  and  disappeared  north- 
ward, crawling  through  a  maze  of  intricate  inland  channels  and  Alpine-like 
waterways  to  some  distant  and  seemingly  half-mythical  trading  post  of  that 
lonesome  land  ;  but,  as  to  anything  definite  as  to  where  she  was  going,  as  little 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


51 


read- 


was  known  by  the  people  as  if  an  arctic  expedition  was  leaving  the  harbor  of 
New  York  or  Boston,  and  not  one  hundredth  of  the  furor  was  made  about 
the  departure,  if,  in  fact,  any  notice  was  taken  of  it  at  all.  With  the  accession 
of  Alaska,  through  the  efforts  of  Secretary  Seward  and  Senator  Sumner,  the 
discovery  of  the  Cassiar  mines,  in  British  Columbia,  but  which  must  be  reached 
through  Alaska,  and  a  few  other  minor  incentives,  set  many  people  to  looking 
northw?  d  ;  they  then  found  that  they  could  contmue  their  trips  on  a  long 
inland  salt-water  river,  of  which  the  well-known  Puget  Sound  was  but  a  small 
part, — hardly  the  equivalent  of  Narragansett  Bay  taken  from  Long  Island 
Sound,  or  Green  Bay  from  Lake  Michigan.  Not  that  these  were  the  first 
explorations  and  discoveries  of  importance  in  the  inland  passage  and  its  sur- 
rounding woods  and  waters,  by  any  manner  of  means.  Cook  and  Clerke,  as 
early  as  1776  ;  Dixon,  from  1785  to  1788  ;  Langsdorff,  in  1803-8  ;  La  Perouse, 
in  1785-88  ;  Lisiartski,  xrom  1803  to  i8of> ;  Meares,  of  the  Royal  navy,  from 
1788  to  1789  ;  and  especially  Vancouver,  from  1/90  to  1795, — had  all  peeped  into 
this  part  of  the  country,  and  many  of  the  explorations  and  surveys  were  of  the 
most  extended  nature  ;  but,  at  about  the  time  of  which  I  speak,  the  knowledge  of 
the  inUnd  passage  to  the  bulk  of  the  people,  even  in  these  parts  so  near  to  C,  was 
nearly  as  musty  as  the  old  volumes  on  the  library  shelves  that  gave  the  mnst 
information.  In  fact,  but  little  knowledge  or  interest  was  to  be  found  regart'- 
ing  these  parts.  Their  history  of  development  from  that  embryonic  sta  e 
where  everything  .old  is  regarded  as  bordering  on  the  mythical,  to  where  a 
line  of  ocean  steam,  rs  visits  them  with  crowded  passenger  lists,  is  the  usual  his- 
tory of  such  develr  pments. 

The  inland  passage  to  Alaska  may  be  said  to  practically  extend  from 
Tacoma,  in  Washington  Territory,  at  tl  ;  head  of  Puget  Sound,  to  Chilkat, 
Alaska,  at  the  head  of  Lynn  Channel  \  distance  of  nearly  1,100  milei,  where 
the  tourist  taking  a  sea  voyage  has  h.gh  shores  in  close  proximity  c  n  cither 
side  of  him,  except  a  few  places  here  and  there,  where  a  short  communication 
with  the  ocean  outside  is  to  be  had.  But  this  "inland  passage,"  so  called,  is 
not  the  only  one  leading  between  the  points  named.  It  is,  rather,  a  Broadway 
in  New  York  City,  a  Pennsylvania  avenue  in  Washington,  State  street  in 
Chicago, — i.  e.,  the  main  way  ;  but  every  few  miles  a  vessel  could  turn  off  down 
another  passage  as  readily  as  a  pedestrian  or  vehicle  could  down  a  side  street, 
and,  continuing  a  short  way,  return  to  the  main  thoroughfare  again.  Probably 
all  the  channels  and  straits  and  sounds  and  inlets  in  this  part  of  Alaska, 
British  Columbia  and  Washington  Territory,  susceptible  of  navigation  by  fair- 
sized  ocean  and  river  steamers,  and  all  of  them  connecting  with  each  other  in  a 
perfect  network  of  waterways,  would,  if  placed  end  to  end,  reach  from  a  quarter 
to  a  third  of  the  way  around  the  world.  Many  of  them  are  so  illy  charted — or 
not  charted  at  all — that  no  craft  of  value  would  trust  herself  to  follow  their 
courses,  while  some  of  the  smaller  way.s,  but  probably  none  the  less  pictur- 
esque, have  yet  to  bear  the  first  white  man  on  their  bosom.  The  most 
picturesque  of  all  the  ways  tl.rough  this  intricacy  of  picturesque  channels  has 


":-,^ 


52 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


been  selected,  carefully  surveyed,  and  experienced  pilots  conduct  the  vessels  to« 
and  from  Alaska  on  its  waters.  The  whole  length  of  the  passage  is  heavily 
timbered  with  various  kinds  of  pine,  fir,  hemlock,  cedar  and  spruce.  Here  and 
there  avalanches  from  the  mountain  tops  have  swept  through  the  dense  timber, 
like  a  sickle  through  so  much  grain ;  and,  although  in  a  few  yeais  the  growth  is. 
restored,  yet  the  varying  shades  of  green  in  the  old  and  new  growth  of  trees, 
running  in  perpendicular  stripes  up  the  steep  hillsides,  plainly  show  the  ancient, 
and  recent  devastations.  Prettily  situated  Indian  villages  dot  the  narrow, 
shelving  shores  at  rare  intervals  along  the  passage  ;  and,  when  these  nomads  of 
the  Northwest  are  seen,  which  is  not  infrequent,  the  chances  are  more  than, 
likely  that  it  will  be  in  a  canoe,  where  they  spend  two-thirds  of  their  out-of- 
door  life. 

Says  the  "American  Cyclopaedia,"  speaking  of  this  interesting  part  of  Wash- 
ington Territory,  the  southern  part  of  the  inland  pa.ssage  :  "  Washington 
Territory  possesses  a  great  multitude  of  harbors,  perhaps  more  than  any  other 
country  of  equal  extent  on  the  globe.  Puget  Sound,  which  has  an  average 
width  of  two  miles,  never  less  than  one  nor  more  than  four,  and  a  depth  never 
less  than  eight  fathoms,  runs  loo  miles  inland  in  a  southward  direction  from 
the  Straits  of  Fuca  ;  and  Hood's  Canal,  twelve  miles  further  west,  with  half 
the  width,  runs  in  the  same  general  direction  about  60  miles.  These  two 
great  estuaries,  or  arms  of  tidewater,  have  depth  sufficient  for  the  largest 
vessels,  and  numerous  bends  and  corners  where  the  most  perfect  protection 
may  be  found  against  the  winds."  Captain  Wilkes,  in  the  report  of  his  famous, 
exploring  expedition,  writes  of  Puget  Sound  :  "  I  venture  nothing  in  saying 
there  is  no  country  in  the  world  that  possesses  waters  equal  to  these."  The 
Coast  Range  and  Cascade  Range  of  mountains  are  plainly  visible  from  the 
sound.  Near  the  Columbia  river  the  Coast  Range  is  not  very  high ;  but  west  of 
Hood's  Canal  it  rises,  in  abrupt,  beetling  ridges,  7,000  to  9,000  feet  high,  called 
the  Olympian  Mountains,  many  of  the  peaks  being  snow-crowned  throughout 
the  year.  The  Cascade  Range  fairly  bristles  with  snow-clad  peaks  from  8,oo& 
to  over  14,000  feet  in  height,  and  in  every  direction,  almost,  may  be  seen  the 
"rrandest  Alpine  scenery  in  the  distance. 

Steaming  northward  through  Puget  Sound  from  Tacoma,  the  Pacific  coast 

terminus   of    the    great    Northern    Pacific    Railroad,    with    Seattle   and    other 

towns  upon  our  right,  and  Port  Townsend,  the  port  of  entry  to  the  sound, 

upon   our   left,  we  come   to  Juan  de    Fuca   Strait,  which  would    lead    us   to 

the  Pacific  Ocean  were  we  :o  follow  it  out.     It  is  the  most  southern  of    all 

the  waterways  that  connecl.  the  great  sea  with  the  network  of  channels  inside^ 

and  formerly  was  much  used  as  a  part  of  the  route  to  Alaska  or  Puget  Sound 

from  Portland,  Oregon,  or  San  Francisco,  California  ;  the  .steamer  putting  out  to 

sea  for  a  day  if  from  the  former  port,  and  for  four  or  five  if  from  the  latter,  the 

passengers  having  all  the  discomforts  of  a  sea  voyage  for  that  time.     Where 

Magellan  sailed  over  the  Pacific  Ocean  it  well  deserved  the  name  ;  but  along  the 

rough  northern  coast  the  amount  of  stormy  weather  increases,  and  a  voyage  on 

this  part  of  the  Pacific  is  not  always  calculated  to  impress  one  with  the  appro~ 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


53 


priateness  of  the  great  ocean's  name.  The  construction  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  from  the  Columbia  river  to  Puget  Sound  has  made  these  sea  voyages 
unnecessary  to  reach  a  port  on  the  inland  passage  ;  and,  unless  a  person's 
stomach  is  built  on  "nautical  lines,"  so  that  he  really  enjoys  an  ocean  trip,  he 
can  save  this  discomfort  by  a  cut  across  lots  on  a  railroad  train.  In  fact,  it 
must  be  kept  in  mind,  that,  while  the  trip  on  the  inland  passage  is  an  ocean 
voyage,  equal  to  one  from  New  York  City  to  Havana  and  return,  it  is,  as  far  as 
sea-sickness  is  concerned,  as  if  the  Hudson  river  was  turned  around  in  the 
-opposite  direction,  and  we  sailed  on  its  waters  from  New  York  to  Havana  and 
return  ;  while  the  inland  passage,  in  its  southern  part,  is  as  accessible  by  rail- 
road travel,  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  as  any  point  on  the 
Hudson  river.  Therefore,  broad  Juan  de  Fuca  Strait,  where  the  pulsations  of 
the  ocean's  life  outside  are  even  felt  to  its  eastern  end,  in  much  diminished 
waves,  however,  carries  fewer  persons  than  formerly,  and  especially  of  that 
reluctant  class  who  look  uncomplainingly  ai  the  terrors  of  the  sea,  from  the  basis 
of  dire  necessity. 

Crossing  this  strait,  which  has  '  to  so  many  controversies  as  to  whether  the 
old  Greek  from  whom  it  is  named  ai  >  discovered  this  beautiful  body  "f  water, 

or  only  made  a  lucky  guess  in  publishinj;  to  the  world  a  mythical  loi.rney  of 
his,  we  sight  and  bear  down  on  the  beaut/  ..  British  island  of  V'ancouver, 
whose  metropolis  is  Victoria,  and  alongside  of  whose  docks  c  shall  soon  be 
made  fast. 

Victoria,  the  city,  was  built  on  the  site  of  old  Fort  Victoria,  a  I '  udson  Bay 
Company  trading  post  of  that  great  British  monopoly  that  held  nearly  all 
British  America  under  its  control  for  two  hundred  years,  aid,  although  broken 
as  a  monopoly,  has  yet  an  influence  to  assist  or  retard  the  development  of  the 
country  which  is  incalculable.  The  Fraser  river  gold  mine  e^  itement  in  the 
'50's  did  much  to  build  up  Victoria,  and  send  it  forward  into  .0  front  rank  of 
Pacific  coast  cities,  a  position  which  she  has  held  will;  varying  fortunes, 
though  now,  in  common  with  the  whole  Northwest,  once  more  on  the 
ascending  wave. 

Cities,  like  individuals,  have  their  "hobbies,"  although  seldom  so  prom- 
inently ma  ';td  ;  and  the  municipal  "hobby"  of  Victoria  is  her  splendidly 
construclcd  roads,  leading  through  the  town  and  far  beyond  the  suburbs,  and 
in  which  she  has  no  superior  on  the  Pacific  coast  of  North  America,  and  but 
few  in  the  world.  If  the  steamer  remains  long  enough  in  the  harbor, — and 
during  excursion  times  in  the  summer  months  they  always  do, — a  drive  should 
be  taken  on  the  Victoria  roads,  and  especially  the  one  leading  to  Esquinialt 
harbor  and  return,  some  two  or  three  miles  in  all.  It  is  but  one,  however,  of 
the  many  beautiful  drives  ;  but  it  is  only  necessary  to  mention  them  in  a  general 
way  for  any  one  who  would  desire  to  test  them,  so  readily  can  all  needed 
information  be  found  on  the  spot. 

In  quaint  little  smoke-stained  and  dingy-looking  stores  in  out-of-the-way 
nooks  and  corners  of  the  streets  are  to  be  found  the  Victorian  curiosity  shops, 


S4 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


crowded  with  relics  of  the  fast-disappearing  Indian  tribes  that  once  formed  a 
much  denser  population  in  this  part  of  the  country  than  at  present.  Pretty 
little  mats  and  baskets  are  made  from  the  sea-grass,  dyed  with  the  juices  from 
berries  and  other  natural  dyes,  and  sold  for  the  merest  trifles.  Curiously  carved 
steatite  houses,  in  miniature  imitation  of  the  Indian  dwellings,  and  "totem 
poles  "  made  by  the  Hydah  or  Ha!da  Indians,  are  to  be  seen  for  sale.  Some- 
times they  carve  plaques  with  spread-eagles  and  other  fanciful  designs  upon 
ihem  ;  rude  but  serviceable  mats  from  the  inner  bark  of  the  cedar  tree,  and  all 
the  known — and  unknown — knick-knacks  that  can  come  from  the  barbaric  inge- 
nuity of  Indian  art,  and  which  would  require  a  pamphlet  larger  than  the  one  in 
the  reader's  hands  to  chronicle  half.  This  is  the  beginning  of  such  curious 
wares  that  will  be  temptingly  displayed  before  the  tourist  at  every  town  and 
stopping  place  on  the  route,  and  from  which  may  be  selected  such  mementoes 
of  the  journey  as  will  please  the  individual  fancy. 

Says  a  writer  in  the  Overland  Monthly,  the  Century  Magazine  of  the 
Pacific  coast:  "Victoria,  in  a  rock-bound  and  land-protected  cove,  is  the  most 
attractive  and  the  largest  city  on  Vancouver's  Island.  During  the  days  of  th*^ 
Fraser  river  excitement,  Victoria  was  a  much  more  energetic  city  than  it  is 
to-day.  There  were  exciting  times  there  then,  and,  because  of  the  great  expec- 
tations which  everybody  indulged  in,  land  was  bid  up  to  an  enormoujly  high 
figure,  and  the  town's  prospects  were  considered  wonderfully  brilliant.  But  the 
Fraser  was  a  fraud,  comparatively,  and  its  mines  were  quickly  exhausted,  so  that 
Victoria  received  a  setback,  from  which  it  is  only  just  recovering.  It  is  a  pic- 
turesque town,  thoroughly  English,  staid  and  conservative,  and  its  location  is 
an  enviable  one.  In  the  distance  rise  the  blue-hued  heights  of  the  Vancouver 
ranges,  and  nearer  at  hand  lie  the  waters  of  Fuca  Straits  ;  beyond  which  there 
can  be  seen  the  snowy  peaks  of  the  Washington  Territory  mountains.  Round- 
ing the  long  point  of  land  which  juts  out  into  the  sea  to  form  Victoria  harbor, 
the  town  lay  all  revealed  to  us  at  last.  In  one  direction  were  red  painted  shops 
set  upon  a  high  bluff  overlooking  the  bay,  and  eastward  there  were  green  fields 
and  trimly  built  cottages. 

" '  Coming  ashore? '  we  were  asked  at  length. 

" '  Not  to-day,'  the  artist  said. 

"  '  Then,  don't  judge  Victoria  until  you  see  the  place,'  came  the  word  from 
the  dock. 

"  We  promised,  and  said  that  when  homeward  bound  we  would  make  a  call." 

Returning,  the  narrator  continues,  "On  the  wharf  at  Victoria  stood  our 
friend  of  a  month  ago. 

"  '  Coming  ashore  ? '  he  said,  when  he  saw  us. 

"'Yes.' 

" '  Good,  we  can  show  you  a  pretty  town.     Disappointed  in  Alaska  ? ' 

"'  No;  it's  the  grandest  country  for  scenery  I —  '  began  the  artist. 

"'Yes,  yes,  I  know,'  said  our  friend,  interrupting  him.  'Big  glaciers,  fine 
sailing,  curious  sights,  no  sea-sickness.     Same  old  story;  hear  it  every  trip.' 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


56 


"Victoria  is  picturesque  in  every  detail,"  continues  the  narrator.  "The 
land  faces  a  land-locked  bay,  and  behind  the  place  stretch  dense  forests, 
through  which  roadways  extend  to  the  various  suburbs.  During  our  stay  the 
frosts  of  early  fall  began  to  color  the  leaves,  and  at  night  the  air  grew  sharp 
and  chill.  But  still  the  air  was  clear,  and  down  in  the  harbor  white-winged 
yachts  still,  moved  over  the  bluish  waters." 

Vancouver  Island,  which  forms  the  outlying  barrier  to,  or  seaward  side  of, 
the  inland  passage  from  Juan  de  Fuca  Strait  "o  Queen  Charlotte  Sound,  is  one 
of  the  largest  islands  in  that  vast  archipelago  which  forms  the  passage,  and  is 
the  largest  under  British  dominion.  It  was  called  Quadra  Island  by  the  Span- 
iards, who  held  it  by  descent  from  Mexico  (then  a  Spanish  colony)  until  the 
latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  Vancouver,  of  the  Royal  navy,  was 
sent  from  England  to  receive  its  surrender  from  the  Spanish  ;  it  having  been 
ordered  by  the  home  government  at  Madrid, — which  he  did  from  the  Castilian 
governor,  Quadra.  Vancouver  called  it  Quadra  and  Vancouver's  Island ;  but 
the  Spanish  title  has  slowly  disappeared  under  British  rule.  Vancouver  pushed 
his  discoveries  from  here  to  Cook's  Inlet  during  his  two  or  three  years'  cruise 
on  this  coast,  and  many  of  the  names  in  the  inland  passage  and  adjacent  lands 
and  waters  are  due  to  his  explorations  made  nearly  a  hundred  years  ago. 

Leaving  Victoria  and  its  picturesque  surroundings  behind  us,  we  swing  in  a 
huge  circle  around  the  southeastern  coast  of  Vancouver  Island,  until  we  are 
pointed  northward  once  more. 

Strictly  speaking,  "the  inland  passage  to  Alaska,  as  defined  by  nautical 
men,  now  begins,  Paget  Sound  only  belonging  to  it  in  a  geographical  sense, 
but  as  similar  thereto  as  'peas  in  a  pod.'"  We  shortly  after  pass 
through  a  congerie  of  pretty  islands,  like  the  Thousand  Islands  of  the  St  Law- 
rence on  a  greatly  magnified  scale,  when  we  come  to  the  Gulf  of  Georgia,  one 
of  the  widest  portions  of  the  inland  passage.  The  islands  we  have  left  to  the 
right  (although  it  may  change  by  the  pilot  not  taking  the  usual  route,  so  many 
are  they  to  choose  from)  are  the  San  Juan  Islands,  of  far  more  importance  than 
one  would  believe,  looking  at  the  unpopulated  shores  ;  at  least,  they  were  so  in 
1856,  when  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  came  very  near  coming  to 
national  blows  about  their  possession.  The  matter  was  finally  left  to  arbitra- 
tion in  the  hands  of  the  Emperor  of  Brazil,  and  then  transferred  to  the  present 
Emperor  of  Germany,  who  awarded  them  to  the  United  States.  The  British 
troops  then  withdrew,  a  post  of  them  having  been  on  one  end  of  the  large  island, 
with  an  American  post  on  the  other. 

As  we  steam  through  the  Gulf  of  Georgia  we  leave  the  highest  point  (Point 
Roberts)  of  the  United  States  off  to  our  right,  in  the  distance,  on  the  forty- 
ninth  parallel. 

Some  forty  or  fifty  miles  farther  on,  and  we  enter  the  first  typical  waters 
of  the  inland  passage, — Discovery  Passage, — a  narrow  waterway  between  liigh, 
mountainous  banks  ;  a  great  salt-water,  river-like  channel,  about  a  mile  in 
breadth,  and   twenty-three   and  a  half  miles  long  by  the    British   Admiralty 


66 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


charts.  A  huge  yellow  bluff,  projecting  into  the  sea,  greets  the  eye  as  the 
passage  is  approached,  and  the  great,  wide  channel  to  the  east  is  the  one 
the  tourist  has  selected  as  a  matter  of  course  for  the  steamer  to  pursue;  but 
she  agreeably  disappoints  him,  and  enters  the  narrow,  picturesque  way.  This 
Discovery  Passage  is  a  Yankee  "find,"  having  first  been  entered  by  a  Bos- 
ton sloop,  the  "Washington,"  in  1789.  The  broad  right-hand  passage  could 
have  been  taken,  as  the  land  to  our  right  is  an  island  (of  which  the  yellow 
clay  bluff  is  the  southern  cape),  called  Valdez  Island  after  an  ancient  mari- 
ner who  visited  this  part  of  the  world  in  1792,  in  the  Spanish  galleon  "Mex- 
icana."  At  first  one  is  slightly  nonplused  at  the  frequency  of  Spanish  names 
in  these  quarters ;  but,  as  the  early  history  of  the  country  is  closely  searched, 
the  conclusion  is  forced  on  one  more  and  more  that  these  old  Castilian  nav- 
igators have  not  even  got  their  dues,  and,  where  their  names  once  formed 
an  honorable  majority,  they  have  slowly  disappeared  before  the  constant 
revisions  of  the  geographers  and  hydrographers  of  another  people,  who  have 
since  acquired  possession.  We  will  come  to  many  such  changes  of  nomen- 
clature on  our  interesting  trip. 

About  two  miles  from  the  entrance  to  Discovery  Passage  we  come  to  the 
Indian  Village  of  Yaculta,  on  Valdez  Island.  It  is  the  first  of  many  we  will  see 
before  we  return  to  Victoria  again,  and,  like  most  of  them,  it  is  on  one  of 
the  narrow,  level  places  between  the  high  hills  and  the  deep  sea  that  happens 
here  and  there  in  this  Alpine  country ;  or  its  inhabitants  would  have  to  live  in 
the  trees  on  the  steep  hillsides,  or  in  their  canoes  on  the  water.  The  large  river 
coming  in  from  the  Vancouver  Island  side,  some  five  or  six  miles  from  the 
entrance  to  the  passage,  is  Campbell  river,  and  is  navigable  for  some  distance 
inland  by  boats  and  canoes. 

About  half  way  through  Discovery  Passage  we  come  to  the  Seymour 
Narrows,  a  contracted  channel  of  the  passage,  about  two  miles  long,  and 
not  much  over  one-fourth  the  previous  width,  where  the  tides  rush  through 
with  the  velocity  of  the  swiftest  rivers  (said  to  be  nine  knots  at  spring- 
tides), a  current  which  is  so  strong  that  it  is  generally  calculated  upon 
in  departing  from  Victoria  so  as  to  reach  this  point  about  slack  water.  In 
the  narrows  is  a  submerged  rock,  with  the  pretty-sounding  alliterative  title 
of  Ripple  Rock,  on  which  the  United  States  man-of-war  "  Saranac "  was 
lost  in  the  summer  of  1875.  Ripple  Rock  is  now  so  well  marked  that  it 
is  no  longer  dangerous  to  navigation.  Northward  from  the  narrows  the 
hills  rise  in  bold  gradients,  making  the  change  quite  noticeable,  and  more 
picturesque. 

Chatham  Point  marks  the  northern  entrance  to  Discovery  Passage,  and  here 
the  tourist  apparently  sees  the  inland  passage  bearing  off  slightly  to  the  east 
from  this  cape,  when,  with  a  sudden  swerve  to  the  westward,  the  ship  swings 
around  at  full  right  angles  to  her  original  course,  and  enters  a  channel  which  a 
minute  before  seemed  to  be  but  a  bay  on  the  west  side  of  the  original  water- 
way.    The  new  channel  is  Johnstone  Strait,  and  is  over  twice  as  long  as  Dis- 


the 

ne 

but 

his 

os- 

uld 

low 

ari- 

ex- 

mes 

ed, 

av- 

ned 

tant 

lave 

len- 


SCENES  IN  THE  INLAND  PASSAGE. 
Ffom  SchwatUa's  "Along  Alaska's  Great  Rive',"  Cassell  &  Co.,  New  York,  Publisher 


(157) 


08 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


IP 


t 


covery  Passage,  that  we  have  just  left ;  or,  to  be  more  exact,  about  fifty-five  miles 
in  length.  The  shores  are  now  getting  truly  mountainous  in  character,  ridges 
and  peaks  on  the  south  side  bearing  snow  throughout  the  summer  on  their 
summits,  4,000  to  5,000  feet  high,  and  the  pilot  will  tell  you  that  the  waters  on 
which  you  are  sailing  correspond  in  their  dimensions,  in  many  places  100  to 
150  fathoms  of  line  failing  to  reach  bottom.  The  rough  and  rugged  islands 
which  we  pass  to  our  right,  about  three  or  four  miles  beyond  Chatham  Point, 
are  the  Pender  Islands.  The  high  mountains  to  the  left  and  front  are  the 
Prince  of  Wales  range.  About  fifteen  to  twenty  miles  after  entering  John- 
stone Strait,  a  conspicuous  valley  is  seen  on  Vancouver  Island,  the  only  break 
in  the  high  mountain  range  on  that  side.  It  is  the  valley  of  a  stream  called 
Salmon  river,  named  from  that  delicious  fish,  which  here  abound,  and  in  the 
pursuit  of  which  the  Indians  have  shown  this  stream  to  be  navigable  for  canoes 
for  a  number  of  miles  inland.  A  conspicuous  conical  hill,  probably  a  thousand 
feet  high,  rises  in  the  valley  and  marks  it  to  the  traveler.  Just  beyond  Salmon 
river's  mouth,  some  three  miles,  the  strait  widens,  another  joining  it  from  the 
north.  The  mountains  to  our  left  are  now  the  New  Castle  range,  Mount 
Palmerston  attaining  the  height  of  5,000  feet.  At  the  northern  end  of  John- 
stone Strait  we  have  a  number  of  channels  to  choose  from, — Blackfish  Sound, 
Weynton  Passage,  Race  Passage  and  Broughton  Strait,  the  longest  of  all,  and 
only  fifteen  miles  in  length,  which  we  take.  All  these  channels  simply  indicate 
that  there  is  a  cluster  of  islands  where  Johnstone  Strait  swells  out  into  Queen 
Charlotte  Sound,  which  we  enter  as  Broughton  Strait  is  left  behind,  and  that  as 
we  select  between  different  islands  we  take  a  different-named  channel.  These 
particular  islands  are  the  Malcolm  Islands,  sometimes  confined  in  its  applica- 
tion to  the  largest  island.  About  half  way  through  the  Broughton  Strait  comes 
in  the  Nimpkish  river  from  the  Vancouver  side.  Mount  Holdsworth  is  the 
high,  conical  peak  we  see  to  the  south  from  here.  At  the  mouth  of  the  river  is 
the  Indian  village  of  Cheslakee.  It  is  said  that  an  ascent  of  this  river  reveals 
the  most  picturesque  scenery  in  lakes  and  falls,  a  saying  to  which  all  the 
surroundings  in  the  inland  passage  itself,  at  this  point,  would  give  the  most 
ample  corroboration.  Directly  north  from  the  river's  mouth  is  Cormorant 
Island,  which  we  leave  to  our  right;  and  the  bay  in  its  side  is  Alert  Bay,  where 
exist  a  salmon  cannery,  an  Indian  mission,  a  wharf  at  which  ships  can  land,  and 
other  signs  of  civilization. 

Queen  Charlotte  Sound  is  one  of  the  few  openings  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It 
is  about  fifty  miles  long,  and,  in  some  places,  nearly  half  as  wide,  and  looks  like 
getting  out  to  sea  after  having  passed  through  the  narrow  channels  just  left 
behind.  It  was  entered  and  named  by  VVedgeborough  in  the  summer  of  1786  ; 
loi  years  ago.  About  nine  or  ten  miles  on  its  waters,  and  to  our  left,  is  Fort 
Rupert,  a  Hudson  Bay  Company's  trading  post,  with  a  large  Indian  village 
clustered  around  it.      Here   fruits   and    vegetables   are   grown    for   the    local 


THROUGH  IVONDEHLAND. 


59 


demand.  About  half  way  through  Queen  Charlotte  Sound,  and  we  pass 
through  a  narrow  channel,  twenty-two  miles  long,  named  Goletas  Channel. 
Emerging  from  it,  we  leave  Cape  Commerell  on  our  left  side,  and  bid  good-bye 
to  Vancouver  Island,  for  this  is  its  northernmost  cape.  Near  the  exit  from 
Goletas  Channel,  but  by  another  passago,  now  seldom  used,  is  where  the  United 
States  man-of-war  "  Suwanee"  was  wrecked,  on  a  submerged  rock,  in  July,  1869, 
when  the  inland  passage  was  not  so  well  known  by  pilots  as  it  is  now.  We  can 
now  look  out  to  sea  toward  the  Pacific  Ocean  ;  but  a  short  journey  plungey  us 
into  one  of  the  many  passages  ahead  of  us,  the  smallest,  or  one  nearest  the 
mainland,  being  taken,  called  Fitzhugh  Sound.  It  was  named  in  1786  by 
Captain  Hanna,  is  about  forty  miles  long,  and  with  a  width  of  about  three  miles. 
The  first  island  to  our  left  on  entering  is  Calvert  Island.  About  ten  miles 
from  its  southern  cape  is  an  indentation  in  the  island,  called  Safety  Cove  or 
Port  Safety,  probably  a  mile  deep.  It  was  while  delayed  in  this  picturesque 
little  harbor,  in  1885,  that  Mr.  Charles  Hallock,  the  well-known  author  on 
piscatorial  pursuits,  penned  the  following  lines,  descriptive  of  the  inland  pas- 
sage, which  we  find  in  the  American  Angler  of  September,  1885: 

"  The  mainland  is  flanked  throughout  nearly  its  entire  extent  by  a  belt  of 
islands,  of  which  the  majority  are  sea-girt  mountains.  Of  course,  throughout 
this  extended  coast-line  there  are  many  islands  of  many  different  phases, — some 
of  them  mere  rocks,  to  which  the  kelps  cling  for  dear  life,  like  stranded  sailors 
in  a  storm ;  while  others  are  gently  rounded  mounds,  wooded  with  fir  ;  and 
others,  still,  precipitous  cliffs  standing  breast  deep  in  the  waves.  Most  aptly 
has  this  wave-washed  region  been  termed  an  archipelago  of  mountains  and 
land-locked  seas.  Steaming  through  the  labyrinths  of  straits  end  channels 
which  seem  to  have  no  outlets ;  straining  the  neck  to  scan  the  tops  of  snow- 
capped peaks  which  rise  abruptly  from  the  basin  where  you  ride  at  anchor  ; 
watching  the  gambols  of  great  whales,  thresher-sharks  and  herds  of  sea-lions, 
which  seem  as  if  penned  up  in  an  aquarium,  so  completely  are  they  enclosed  by 
the  shadowy  hills, — one  seems,  indeed,  in  a  new  creation,  and  watches  the  strange 
forms  around  him  with  an  intensity  of  interest  which  almost  amounts  to  awe. 

"  In  this  weird  region  of  bottomless  depths,  there  are  no  sand  beaches  or 
gravelly  shores.  All  the  margins  of  mainland  and  islands  drop  down  plump 
into  inky  fathoms  of  water,  and  the  fall  of  the  tide  only  exposes  the  rank  yellow 
weeds  which  cling  to  the  damp  crags  and  slippery  rocks,  and  the  mussels  and 
barnacles  which  crackle  and  hiss  when  the  lapping  waves  recede.  *  * 
*  *  *  When  the  tide  sets  in,  great  rafts  of  algae,  with  stems  fifty  feet 
long,  career  along  the  surface  ;  millions  of  jelly-fish  and  anemones  crowded  as 
closely  as  the  stars  in  the  firmament ;  great  air-bulbs,  with  streamers  floating 
like  the  long  hair  of  female  corpses  ;  schools  of  porpoises  and  fin-back  whale 
rolling  and  plunging  headlong  through  the  boiling  foam  ;  all  sorts  of  marine 
and  Mediterranean  fauna  pour  in  a  ceaseless  surge,  like  an  irresistible  army. 
Hosts  of  gulls  scream  overhead,  or  whiten  the  ledges,  where  they  squat  content 
or  run  about  feeding. 


<J0 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


"  Here  and  there  along  the  almost  perpendicular  cliffs  the  outflow  of  the 
melting  snow  in  the  pockets  of  the  mountains  leaps  down  in  dizzy  waterfalls 
from  heights  that  are  higher  than  the  Yosemite.  From  the  caflons  which  divide 
the  foot-hills,  cascades  pour  out  into  the  brine,  and  all  their  channels  are 
choked  with  salmon  crowding  toward  the  upper  waters.  I  could  catch  them 
with  my  hands  as  lo-g  as  my  strength  endured,  so  helpless  and  infatuated  are 
these  creatures  of  predestination.  At  the  heads  of  many  of  these  rivulets  there 
are  lakes  in  which  dwell  salmon  trout,  spotted  with  crimson  spots  as  large  as  a 
pea  ;  and  the  rainbow  trout,  with  his  iridescent  lateral  stripe  ;  and  his  cousin  ger- 
main,  the  'cut-throat  trout,'  slashed  with  carmine  under  the  gills.  And  there 
is  another  trout,  most  familiar  to  the  eye  in  Eastern  wate's,  and  doubly  welcome 
to  the  sight  in  this  far-off  region — the  Salvelinus  Canadensis,  or  'sea-trout,' 
which  I  have  recognized  these  many  years  as  a  separate  species.  *  *  * 
Here  he  is  in  his  garniture  of  crimson,  blue  and  gold,  just  like  his  up-stream 
neighbors  of  New  England  and  the  Provinces.         *         '•' 

''The  seas  are  full  of  strange  species.  Here  the  family  Percidce  is  regnant 
and  supreme  among  the  food  fishes.  The  number  of  species  and  varieties  is 
remarkable.  Here  are  the  Emhiotocidce,  or  viviparous  perch,  which  bring  forth 
their  young  in  litters,  like  cats  or  dogs,  to  the  number  of  eight  to  forty  at  a 
time.  There  are  no  less  than  seventeen  known  varieties  of  them.  Here,  also, 
are  at  least  fifteen  varieties  ot  ScorpcenidcE,  all  fine  table  fish,  which  are  locally 
known  as  rock-cod,  groupers  and  snappers,  but  having  no  close  relations  a^  all 
to  the  family  of  Gadidce.  I  send  herewith  the  differential  characteristics  of 
four  of  them  taken  near  our  present  berth,  in  latitude  51  degrees  30  minutes. 
The  scarlet  snapper  seems  very  closely  allied  to  the  Lutjanus  Blackfordi  of 
Eastern  Florida  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  from  which  he  could  scarcely  be  dis- 
tinguished in  appearance.  The  others  are  all  fish  of  brilliant  colors.  No.  2 
can  scarcely  be  distinguished  from  the  fresh-water  bass  of  the  lakes  lying  west 
of  the  Mississippi, — the  Micropterus, — either  in  form,  fin  system  or  color.  At 
Sitka  I  found  a  fish  of  exactly  the  same  shape,  but  black  as  a  sea-bass  of  the 
Atlantic  {Centropristis  atrarius).  No.  4  belongs,  I  believe,  to  the  family  of 
C/iiridiP,  and  is  locally  known  as  a  sea-trout.  *  *  *  These  fish 
take  salmon  roe,  clams,  sand-worms,  crab.s,  meat  and  cut-fish  bait.  The  black 
bass  of  Sitka  is  taken  alongshore  with  a  trolling  spoon.  *  *  *  The 
other  fish  were  taken  chiefly  in  thirty  fathoms  of  water  on  the  young  flood  tide. 

"  Besides  these  fish,  we  have  taken  halibut,  two  kinds  of  flounder,  skates,  dog- 
fish of  several  kinds  and  strange  shapes,  sharks,  sculpins,  etc.;  some  of  the 
sculpins  were  beautifully  marked  in  blue,  red  and  brown.  *  *  j  have 
had  several  of  the  species  painted  in  oil,  and  will  forward  them  to  the  Smith- 
sonian, with  descriptions." 

But  let  us  leave  this  piscatorial  paradise,  as  painted  by  one  who  is  an  artist 
in  his  line,  and  wend  our  way  through  the  forty  miles  of  Fitzhugh  Sound.  Then 
comes  Lama  Passage,  contracted,  winding  and  picturesque,  about  fourteen  or 
fift',*en  miles  long.     About  half  way  through  we  pass  very  near  the  Indian 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


61 


ihe 

ills 

Me 

ire 

;m 

ire 

:re 

Is  a 

[er- 

jere 

Ime 

ut,' 


village  of  Bella-Bella,  and  which  is  also  a  Hudson  Bay  Company  trading  post. 
The  Bella-Bellas  were  once  a  large  tribe  living  in  these  parts ;  but  the  little 
village,  of  about  twenty  Indian  houses,  that  thr  tourist  passes  on  his  left,  repre- 
sents the  greater  portion  of  the  tribe  at  present,  and  gives  one  a  practical  and 
forcible  illustration  of  the  disappearance  of  "  the  noble  red  man."  A  mission 
residence  and  a  church,  with  the  cattle  on  the  cleared  hills,  give  the  place  (juite 
a  civilized  aspect.  After  Lama  Passage  comes  Seaforth  Channel,  just  as  wind- 
ing and  pretty  ;  the  swingings  to  the  right  and  left,  in  places  where  the  passage 
is  apparently  right  ahead,  increase  your  respect  for  the  pilot,  and  you  wonder, 
in  all  these  intricacies,  like  Goldsmith's  village  schoolmaster,  "how  one  small 
head  could  carry  all  he  knew."  At  Milbank  Sound  we  look  out  to  sea  for  a 
brief  half-hour,  and  then  plunge  into  Finlayson  Channel,  a  typical  waterway  of 
the  inland  passage,  like  a  great  river.  The  sides  are  very  high  mountains, 
densely  timbered  nearly  to  the  top,  where  snow  exists  the  year  round,  forming 
a  base  of  supplies  for  the  beautiful  waterfalls  that  dash  down  the  precipitous 
heights,  like  silvery  columns,  on  a  deep  green  background.  It  is  said  that  all  the 
little  streams  of  this  region  swarm  with  salmon,  giving  the  Indians  a  most  boun- 
tiful supply.  Then  comes  Graham  Reach,  about  twenty  miles  long  ;  then  Fraser 
Reach,  of  ten  miles  ;  and  McKay  Reach,  of  seven, — that  could  all  have  been 
given  a  single  name,  and  much  trouble  have  been  saved.  A  little,  irregular  sheet 
of  water,  called  Wright  Sound,  and  Grenville  Channel,  "  as  straight  as  an 
arrow,"  gives  us  nearly  fifty  miles  of  rectilinear  sailing. 

We  are  now  getting  far  enough  north  to  make  the  sight  of  snow  a  familiar 
one,  and  the  dense  timber  is  striped  witii  perpendicular  windrows,  where  large 
avalanches  have  cut  their  way  through  them  in  the  winter,  when  the  snow  falls 
heavily  in  these  parts.  Chatham  Sound  is  tht-  last  channel  we  essay  in  British 
domain,  and  a  royal  old  sheet  of  water  it  is,  with  a  width  of  nearly  ten  miles,  and 
about  three  or  four  times  as  long.  Alter  about  three  hours  on  its  bosom  a 
great  channel  is  opened  east  and  west  before  us,  on  which  the  swells  from  the 
broad  Pacific  enter.  This  is  Dixon  Entrance,  and  the  boundary  between  British 
Columbia  and  Alaska  beyond,  whose  blue  mountains  we  see  in  the  distance. 
The  islands  still  continue  ;  and  the  number,  in  this  part  of  Alaska  alone,  has. 
been  estimated  at  eleven  hundred,  and  this,  too,  excludes  the  rocks  and  islets. 
Clarence  Strait  is  the  main  channel  as  soon  as  Alaskan  waters  are  entered;  but 
there  are  others  on  both  sides  of  it  which  may  be  taken.  It  is  a  little  over  a 
hundred  miles  long,  and  somewhat  variable  in  its  width.  It  was  named  by  Van- 
couver, nearly  a  hundred  years  ago.  after  the  Duke  of  Clarence.  From  Clarence 
Strait  we  enter  Stickeen  Strait ;  for  most  of  the  steamers  call  at  Wrangell,  and 
this  bends  us  off  of  cur  course. 

Wrangell  is  a  tumble-down,  dilapidated-looking  town,  in  a  most  beautifully 
picturesque  situation,  and  the  first  impression  is  to  make  one  ashamed  of  the 
displays  of  the  human  race  compared  with  those  of  nature.  It  is  the  port  to 
the  Cassiar  mines  ;  or,  better  speaking,  it  was,  for  they  have  seen  their  palmiest 
days,  a  fact  which  is  quite  evident  on  looking  at  their  dependency,  the  town  of 


«8 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


Wrangell.  The  Cassiar  mines  are  in  British  Columbia,  and  to  reach  them  the 
Stickeen  river,  emptying  near  Wrangell,  must  be  ascended,  itself  a  most  pic- 
turesque stream,  and  one  well  worth  visiting  if  the  tourist  can  catch  one  of  the 
little  boats  that  yet  occasionally  depart  from  Wrangell  to  ascend  the  rushing, 
impetuous  river.  Says  one  writer  of  it,  in  the  Philadelpli.a  Dispahh :  "The 
Stickeen  is  navigable  for  small  steamers  to  Glenora,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles, 
flowing  first  in  a  general  westerly  direction,  through  grassy,  undulating  plains, 
darkened  here  and  there  with  patches  of  evergreens  ;  then,  curving  southward, 
and  receiving  numerous  tributaries  from  the  north,  it  enters  the  Coast  Range,  and 
sweeps  across  it  to  the  sea  through  a  Yosemite  valley  more  than  a  hundred  miles 
long,  and  one  to  three  miles  wide  at  the  bottom,  and  from  five  thousand  to  eight 
thousand  feet  deep,  marvelously  beautiful  and  inspirin";  from  end  to  end.  To  the 
appreciative  tourist,  sailing  up  the  river  through  the  midst  of  it  all,  the  cafion,  for 
a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  ten  miles,  is  a  gallery  of  sublime  pictures, — an 
unbroken  series  of  majestic  mountains,  glaciers,  falls,  cascades,  forests,  groves, 
flowery  garden  spots,  grassy  meadows  in  endless  variety  of  form  and  composition, 
— furniture  enough  for  a  dozen  Yosemites  !  wh-te,  back  of  the  walls,  and  thou- 
sands of  feet  above  them,  innumerable  peaks  and  spires  and  domes  of  ice  and 
snow  tower  grandly  into  the  sky.  About  fifteen  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  river 
you  come  to  the  first  of  the  great  glaciers,  pouring  down  through  the  forest  in 
a  shattered  ice-cascade  nearly  to  the  level  of  the  river.  Twelve  miles  above 
this  point  a  noble  view  is  opened  along  the  Skoot  river  caiion — a  group  of 
glacier-laden  Alps,  from  ten  thousand  to  twelve  thousand  feet  high.  Thirty- 
five  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  river  the  most  striking  object  of  all  comes  in 
sight ;  this  is  the  lower  expansion  of  the  great  glacier,  measuring  about  six 
miles  around  the  '  snout,'  pushed  boldly  forward  into  the  middle  of  the  valley 
among  the  trees,  while  its  sources  are  mostly  hidden.  It  takes  its  rise  in  the 
heart  of  the  range,  some  thirty  or  forty  miles  away.  Compared  with  this,  the 
Swiss  mer  de  glace  is  a  small  thing.  It  is  called  the  '  Ice  Mountain'.'  The 
front  of  the  snout  is  three  hundred  feet  high,  but  rises  rapidly  back  for  a  few 
miles  to  a  height  of  about  one  thousand  feet.  Seen  through  gaps  in  the  trees 
growing  on  one  of  its  terminal  moraines,  as  one  sails  slowly  along  against  the 
current,  the  marvelous  beauty  of  the  chasms  and  clustered  pinnacles  shows  to 
fine  advantage  in  the  sunshine." 

Wrangell's  log-cabin  backwoods  stores  are  good  ])laces  to  search  for  Indian 
relics,  the  Stickeen  Indians  living  in  the  vicinity  being  the  most  prolific  in  the 
manufacture  of  these  savage  curios.  Leaving  Wrangell,  a  westward-trending 
strait  (Sumner  Strait,  after  Senator  Sumner)  of  forty  or  fifty  miles  carries  us 
directly  out  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  ;  but  an  hour's  run  finds  us  turning  into 
another  passage, — Chatham  Strait, — one  of  the  largest  of  the  almost  innumer- 
able channels  of  the  inland  passage,  and  which  pomts  squarely  to  the  north. 
It  is  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long,  and  about  five  or  six  miles 
wide.  It  was  named  by  Vancouver,  about  the  end  of  last  century,  after  the 
largest  of  his  two  ships,  and  is  a  most  noble  sheet  of  water. 


THROUGH   WONDERLAND. 


63 


e 

c- 

e 

g. 
e 

s, 

s, 

d, 

d 
es 
Iht 

e 

or 
in 
s, 


Formerly  the  pilots  used  to  go  around  Cape  Ommaney,  and  put  out  to  sea  in 
order  to  reach  Sitka,  although  there  was  a  channel  leading  from  Chatham  Strait 
thereto  which  saved  the  roughness  of  a  sea  voyage.  IL  was  shunned,  however, 
by  most  of  them,  and,  in  getting  the  ominous  name  of  Peril  Strait,  certain  sup- 
posed dangers  were  thought  to  be  lurking  in  it.  Captain  Carroll,  who  has  spent 
half  an  ordinary  lifetime  in  these  waters,  and  done  much  toward  practically 
determining  their  navigability,  found  that  most  of  the  peril  was  in  the  name, — 
at  least  to  ships  under  his  management, — and  Peril  Straits*  are  used  nearly 
altogether  now,  making  Sitka,  though  facing  the  Pacific  Ocean,  practically  on 
the  inland  passage. 

Just  before  entering  Peril  Straits, — by  the  way,  one  of  the  most  charming  ot 
the  many  cHann':is  described, — we  stop  at  a  little  place  ensconced  in  a  narrow 
inlet  of  Chatham  Strait,  cal'ed  Killisnoo.  At  Killisnoo  the  Northwest  Trading 
Company,  of  Portland,  Oregon,  have  erected  quite  extensive  works  for  the  cap- 
ture and  extraction  of  oil  from  herrings,  which  has  made  this  something  of  a 
port,  at  least  for  Alaska.  There  is  also  a  phosphate  factory  here,  where  phos- 
phates are  made  from  these  fish  after  the  oil  is  extracted.  This  company  formerly 
caught  whales  in  this  strait;  but  I  understand  the  enterprise  has  been  partially  or 
wholly,  given  up  as  not  paying;  or,  at  least,  in  proportion  to  the  new  enter- 
prises they  have  more  recently  opened.  Around  this  part  of  Admiralty  Island 
are  the  Kootznahoo  Indians,  who  have  been  quite  a  warlike  band  of  savages  in 
the  past,  but  have  been  quite  mollified  by  an  incident  in  their  troubles,  which  I 
will  give  in  the  language  of  a  correspondent  to  the  New  York  Times,  of 
November  23,  1884  : 

"  The  Kootznahoo  village,  near  the  fishing  station  of  Killisnoo,  was  the 
scene  of  the  latest  naval  battle  and  bombardment  on  the  coast,  two  years 
ago.  A  medicine  man  of  the  tribe  who  went  out  in  a  whale-boat  was  killed 
by  the  explosion  of  a  bomb  harpoon,  and  the  Indians  demanded  money  or 
a  life  as  an  equivalent  for  their  loss.  The  Killisnoo  traders  did  not  respect 
this  Indian  law  of  atonement,  and  the  Indians  seized  a  white  man  for  hoi, 
tage.  Finding  that  the  hostage  had  only  one  eye,  they  declared  him 
cultus  (bad),  and  sent  word  that  they  must  have  a  whole  and  sound  man,  or 
his  ecjuivalent  in  blankets,  to  make  up  for  their  lost  medicine  man.  They 
threatened  the  massacre  of  the  settlement,  and  word  was  sent  to  Sitka  for 
help.  Captain  Merriman,  United  States  navy,  went  over  with  the  revenue 
cutter  'Corwin'  and  the  steamer  'Favorite,'  and  made  a  counter  demand  for 
blankets  as  a  guarantee  for  their  future  peace  and  quiet.  Failing  to  respond, 
he  carried  out  his  threat  of  shelling  their  village,  the  Indians  havmg 
improved  their  hours  of  delay  by  removing  their  canoes,  valuables  and  pro- 
visions. Most  of  the  houses  were  destroyed,  and  the  humbled  Indians  came 
to  terms,  and  have  been  the  most  penitent  and  reliable  friends  of  the  whites 

*  The  Russian  name  is  Destruction  or  Pernicious  Straits  (the  reason  for  which  appears  further 
on),  and,  in  its  improper  translation  to  Peril  Straits,  many  people  supposed  the  name  was  given 
on  account  of  its  dangerous  navigation. 


■Pi 


Ri 


n 


^ 


(M) 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


05 


ever  since.  They  have  built  their  houses  now  around  the  Killisnoo  settle- 
ment ;  and,  although  Captain  Merriman  left  the  Territory  some  time  ago, 
they  all  speak  of  him  as  the  best  of  tyees,  and  the  settlers  say  that  the 
naval  battle  of  Killisnoo  has  made  life  and  property  more  secure  through- 
out the  Terricory." 

At  present  the  inland  passage  in  the  Territory  and  British  Columbia 
is  as  safe  from  Indians  as  Broadway,  in  New  York  City,  or  State  street, 
Chicago.  In  no  place  in  the  world  of  which  I  know,  or  have  ever  heard, 
are  the  facilities  for  studying  Indian  life  so  good  for  those  who  only  spend 
a  tourist's  jaunt  among  them.  Many  peop'e  along  the  far  Western  rail- 
roads will  remember  seeing  here  and  there  a  dirty  group  of  assorted  Indians, 
begging  for  alms,  and  taking  full  advantage  of  all  the  silver-plated  sympathy 
showered  upon  them  in  that  metal ;  for  they  were  parts  of  the  curious  scenes  to 
behold.  Generally  they  were  a  slim  delegation  from  some  far-away  agency,  and  a 
person  living  in  Washington,  where  the  Indian  chiefs  occasionally  visit  in  their 
full  regalia,  would  have  a  better  chance  to  see  typical  Indians  than  the  tourist, 
unless  he  left  the  roaa  and  visited  their  agencies,  a  journey  of  toil  and  trouble, 
and  less  welcome  if  the  agent  be  a  stranger.  Alaska  is  widely  different.  From 
its  mountainous,  Alpine  nature,  living  inland  is  out  of  the  question  ;  and  the 
Indians  seek  the  few  narrow  beaches  and  low  points  scattered  here  and  there 
through  the  inland  passage  as  the  places  whereon  to  build  their  little  villages, 
and  these  are  in  as  full  view  to  the  passing  steamer  as  New  York  and  Brooklyn 
are  to  a  boat  going  up  or  down  the  East  river  channel.  At  rarer  intervals 
more  extensive  plats  of  level  or  rolling  land  have  been  found  ;  and  at  some  of 
these,  in  proximity  to  certain  places  where  business  pursuits  are  carried  on, 
white  men  have  erected  their  little  towns  ;  and  around  these,  again,  the  Indians 
have  clustered  their  curious  cabins  in  the  most  friendly  way,  giving  the  greatest 
access  to  tourists  during  even  the  short  time  that  vessels  stop  at  the  ports  to 
load  and  unload  their  freight.  At  Wrangell,  Sitka,  Pyramid  Harbor,  etc.,  are 
to  be  seen  villages  of  Stickeens,  Sitkas,  Chilkats,  Kootznahoos,  etc.,  in  close 
juxtaposition.  In  the  Polaris,  of  Portland,  Oregon,  under  date  of  November 
19,  1881,  I  find  the  following  description  of  the  old  Stickeen  village,  just  below 
Wrangell,  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lindsley,  a  well-known  divine  and  mis- 
sionary of  the  Northwest  : 

"  The  next  day  we  went  to  the  site  of  the  old  Stickeen  town.  It  was 
a  beautiful  situation,  looking  out  upon  the  sea,  sheltered  and  with  sunny 
exposure.  In  the  bay  were  several  islands.  One  of  them  was  kept  sacred 
as  a  burial  place.  The  tombs  were  visible  at  a  distance.  These  were  strong 
boxes  raised  above  the  ground  for  protection,  built  in  the  shape  of  houses, 
sometimes  painted,  and  within  which  the  remains  are  deposited.  We  could 
not  but  admire  the  rude  taste,  as  well  as  the  sentiments  whicr  were  thus 
conveyed.  The  buildings  were  falling  into  decay;  but  enough  ei^ained  to 
impress  us  with  the  fact  that  their  mechanical  skill  was  of  no  recent  crigin.  The 
Stickeens  have  occupied  the  site  for  generations  past  ;  and  here  were  immense 


66 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


wooden  houses  that  might  have  been  standing  a  century  ago,  judging  from  the 
condition  of  the  wooden  buildings  which  I  had  examined  on  the  Atlantic 
coast,  and  which  are  known  to  have  been  erected  before  the  Revolutionary  War. 
Those  buildings  were  frail ;  these,  built  of  massive  timbers  and  posts  of  from 
two  to  three  feet  in  diameter,  some  round,  and  others  squared.  The  planks  for 
the  floors  were  several  inches  thick.  The  mortise  and  tenon  work  in  the  frames 
joined  with  accuracy,  and  other  mechanical  contrivances  appeared  in  these 
structures.  All  were  large,  and  some  immense.  I  measured  one  house  sixty 
by  eighty  feet. 

"  The  domestic  life  is  patriarchal,  several  families  being  gathered  under  one 
roof.  Genealogies  were  kept  for  ages,  and  honors  and  distinctions  made 
hereditary.  To  mark  these,  insignia,  like  a  coat-of-arms,  were  adopted,  and  in 
rude  carvings  they  strove  to  represent  them.     1  could  decipher,  also,  the  paint- 


*         ,..,._.  ,^. 


fci 


1 


T'LINKET    BASKET    WORK. 
(Made   by  the  Indians  of  the  Inland  PasSbge.) 


ings  that  once  figured  these  upon  the  posts  and  sides  of  houses.  The  eagle, 
the  whale,  the  bear  and  the  otter,  and  other  animals  of  sea  and  land,  were  the 
favorites,  ofttimes  coupled  with  a  warrior  in  the  attitude  of  triumph.  Gigantic 
representations  of  these  family  emblems  were  erected  near  the  house,  on  posts, 
twenty  to  thirty  feet  high,  covered  with  carvings  of  animals,  and  the  devices 
stained  with  permanent  pigments  of  black,  red  and  blue.  [See  illustration  on 
page  64,  which  is  the  front  of  a  chief's  house  at  Kaigan  village.]  Imaginary 
creatures  resembling  griffins  or  dragons,  and  reminding  you  of  the  mammoth 
animals  that  flourished  in  a  distant  geological  period,  were  carved  on  the  posts 
or  pictured  on  the  walls.  Raised  figures  resembling  hieroglyphics  and  Asiatic 
alphabets  were  carved  on  the  inside  wall.  Some  of  the  posts  containing  the 
family. coat-of-arms,  thus  highly  carved  and  decorated  according  to  the  native 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


67 


taste,  were  used  as  receptacles  for  the  remains  of  the  dead,  gathered  up  after 
cremation.  Great  sacredness  was  attached  to  them.  To  injure  one  was  to 
insult  the  family  to  which  it  belonged  ;  to  cut  one  down  was  an  unpardonable 
offense. 

"  The  description  which  I  have  now  given  will  answer,  with  some  unim- 
portant differences,  for  the  native  houses  as  they  are  found  elsewhere.'' 

Of  the  readiness  of  these  Indians  to  give  exhibitions  of  their  savage 
manners  and  customs  for  their  visitors, — and  which  one  will  seldom  see  else- 
where, and  never  with  so  little  trouble  and  effort  on  the  spectator's  part, — Dr. 
Lindsley  says:  "By  previous  invitation,  the  missionaries  and  their  guests 
assembled  at  the  house  of  Tow-ah-att,  a  tyee,  or  chief  of  the  Stickeen  tribe. 
An  exhibition  of  manners  and  customs  had  been  prepared  for  us,  to  show  us 
what  Indian  life  had  been.  *  *  *  -pj^g  insignia  on  Tow-ah-att's 
huuse  we.  j  the  eagle  and  wolf,  marking  the  union  of  two  families.  A  brief 
address  of  welcome  introduced  the  entertainment.  Among  the  customs  shown 
to  us  by  the  dramatic  representation,  were  a  warrior  with  blackened  face,  with 
spear  and  helmet,  a  id  with  belt  containing  a  two-edged  knife,  or  dagger  ;  a 
chief  in  full  dress  riade  of  skins  and  a  robe  made  of  the  wool  of  a  mountain 
sheep.  [For  this  robe  see  the  illustration  on  page  79.]  Each  of  these  presented 
an  imposing  appearance.  After  these,  masks  and  efifigies  appeared  ;  next,  a 
potlatch  dance,  in  which  a  large  number  of  the  natives  of  both  sexes  engaged. 
This  was  followed  by  dances  which  were  used  only  upon  notable  occasions 
which  might  be  called  sacred  or  religious.  These  dances  and  the  chants  were 
regarded  by  the  natives  with  a  species  of  veneration.  We  were  struck  with  the 
comparative  excellence  of  the  singing  which  accompanied  these  dances,  dis- 
playing a  considerable  amount  of  culture.  Evidently  much  practice  had  been 
bestowed  upon  the  art,  as  the  large  number,  young  and  old,  who  engaged  in 
them,  observed  the  musical  rests  and  parts  with  great  precision.  A  large 
number  of  whites  and  Indians  were  present  at  this  entertainment,  and  the 
house  was  not  crowded.  Our  entertainers  observed  some  formalities  which 
could  do  no  discredit  to  the  most  enlightened  assemblies.  After  an  address  of 
welcome,  and  short  speeches  from  visitors,  one  of  the  chiefs,  Tow-ah-att, 
delivered  a  formal  discourse." 

Mr.  Ivan  Petrorf,  a  Russian,  of  .\laska,  who  was  deputized  by  the  Superin- 
tendent of  the  United  States  Census  of  1S80  to  collect  statistics  for  his  report 
regarding  Alaska  Territory,  finds  the  following  interesting  items  regarding  the 
Indian  tribes  which  the  tourist  will  encounter  in  his  trip  to  Southeastern 
Alaska : 

•'  The  outward  characteristics  of  the  T'linkit  tribe  may  be  enumerated  as 
follows  :  The  coarse,  stiff,  coal-black  hair,  dark  eyebrows,  but  faintly  delineated 
over  the  large  black  eyes  full  of  expression  ;  protruding  cheek  bones  ;  thick, 
full  lips  (the  undtr  lips  of  the  women  disfigured  by  the  custom  of  inserting 
round  or  oval  pieces  uf  wood  or  bone),  and  the  septum  of  the  men  pierced  for 
the  purpose  of  inserting  ornaments ;  beautiful  white  teeth  ;  ears  pierced  not 


f 


6R 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND 


% 


i 


only  in  the  lobes,  but  all  around  the  rim.  To  these  may  be  added  the  dark  color 
of  the  skin,  a  medium  stature,  and  a  proud,  erect  bearing  (this  only  applies  to  the 
men).    The  hands  of  the  women  are  very  small,  and  large  feet  are  rarely  met  with- 

"  Before  their  acquaintance  with  the  Russians,  the  only  clothing  of  the 
T'linkits  consisted  of  skins  sewed  together,  which  they  threw  around  their  naked 
bodies  without  regard  to  custom  or  fashion.  In  addition  to  this,  they  wore, 
on  festive  occasions,  blankets  woven  out  of  the  fleeces  of  mountain  goats. 
From  time  immemorial  they  have  possessed  the  art  of  dyeing  this  material 
black  and  yellow  by  means  of  charcoal  and  a  kind  of  moss  called  sekhcnc.  The 
patterns  of  these  blankets,  wrought  in  colors,  exhibit  an  astonishing  degree  of 
skill  and  industry  ;  the  l.at,  plaited  of  roots,  is  also  ornamented  with  figures 
and  representations  of  animals. 

"  Both  men  and  women  paint  their  faces  black  and  red  with  charcoal  or  soot, 
and  vermilion  (cinnabar),  which  are  their  favorite  colors.  They  are  mixed  with 
seal  oil,  and  rubbed  well  into  the  cuticle ;  subsequently,  figures  and  patterns 
are  scratched  upon  this  surface  with  sticks  of  wood.  The  wealthy  T'linkits 
paint  their  faces  every  day,  while  the  plebeians  indulge  in  this  luxury  only  occa- 
sionally.    As  a  rule,  the  T'linkits  of  both  sexes  go  barefooted. 

"The  men  pierce  ihe  partition  of  the  nose,  the  operation  being  performed 
ill  early  childhood,  frequently  within  a  few  weeks  after  birth.  In  the  aperture 
thus  made  a  silver  ring  is  sometimes  inserted  large  enough  to  cover  the  mouth; 
but  the  poorer  individuals  insert  other  articles,  such  as  feathers,  etc.  They 
also  pierce  the  lobes  of  the  ear  for  the  purpose  of  inserting  shark's  teeth, 
shells,  and  other  ornaments,  while  through  the  holes  around  the  rim  of  the  ear 
they  draw  bits  of  red  worsted  or  small  feathers.  Veniaminoff  states  that  each 
hole  in  the  ear  was  pierced  in  memory  of  some  event  or  deed. 

"  The  ornamentation  of  the  under  lip  of  a  female  (now  almost  obsolete) 
marked  an  epoch  in  her  life.  As  long  as  she  remained  single  she  wore  this; 
but,  as  soon  as  she  was  married,  a  larger  piece  of  wood  or  bone  was  pressed 
into  the  opening,  and  annually  replaced  by  a  still  larger  one,  the  inner  side 
being  hollowed  out.  It  was,  of  cour.se,  impossible  for  these  individuals  to  close 
their  mouths,  the  under  lip  protruding,  distended  by  the  disk  of  wood  or  bone. 

"  Veniaminoff  states  that  among  the  T'linkits  the  married  women  are  permitted 
to  have  what  are  called  '  assistant  husbands,'  who  are  maintained  by  the 
wives.  Among  the  T'linkits  the  office  of  vice-husband  can  only  be  filled  by  a 
brother  or  near  relative  of  the  husband. 

"  The  T'linkits  burn  their  dead  upon  funeral  pyres,  with  the  exception  of  the 
bodies  of  shamans,  or  sorcerers,  which  are  deposited  in  boxes  elevated  on  posts. 
The  dead  slave  is  not  considered  worthy  of  any  ceremony  whatever;  his  corpse 
is  thrown  into  the  sea  like  the  carcass  of  a  dog.  When  a  T'linkit  dies  his  rela- 
tives prepare  a  great  feast,  inviting  a  multitude  of  guests,  especially  if  the 
deceased  has  been  a  chief  or  a  wealthy  member  of  a  clan.  The  guests  are 
chosen  only  from  a  strange  chin;  for  instance,  if  the  deceased  belonged  to  the 
Raven  clan,  the  guests  must  be  from  the  Wolf  clan,  and  vice,  versa.     No  certain 


mmmmmmmm 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


69 


time  is  set  for  the  cremation  or  for  the  festivities;  this  depends  altogether 
upon  the  magnitude  of  the  preparations.  Poor  people  who  are  unable 
to  defray  the  rost  of  such  ceremonies,  take  their  dead  to  some  distant 
cove  or  bay,  and  burn  them  without  any  display.  When  the  guests  have  assem- 
bled and  the  pyre  has  been  erected,  the  corpse  is  carried  out  of  the  village  by 
invited  guests,  and  placed  upon  the  fagots.  The  pyre  is  then  ignited  in  the 
presence  of  the  relatives;  but  these  latter  take  no  active  part,  confining  them- 
selves to  crying,  weeping  and  howling.  On  such  occasions  many  burn  their 
hair,  placing  the  head  in  the  flames;  others  cut  the  hair  short,  and  smear 
the  face  with  the  ashes  of  the  deceased.  When  the  cremation  of  the  body  has 
been  accomplished,  the  guests  return  to  the  dwelling  of  the  deceased,  and  seat 
themselves  with  the  widow,  who  belongs  to  their  clan,  around  the  vails  of  the 
hut;  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  then  appear  with  hair  burned  and  cropped, 
faces  blackened  and  disfigured,  and  place  themselves  within  the  circle  of  guests, 
sadly  leaning  upon  sticks  with  bowed  heads,  and  then  begin  their  funeral 
dirges  with  weeping  and  howling.  The  guests  take  up  the  song  when  the  rel- 
atives are  exhausted,  and  thus  the  howling  is  kept  up  for  four  nights  in  succes- 
sion, with  only  a  brief  interruption  for  refreshment.  During  this  period  of 
mourning,  if  the  deceased  had  been  a  chief,  or  wealthy,  the  relatives  formerly 
killed  one  or  two  slaves,  according  to  the  rank  of  the  dead,  in  order  to  give  him 
service  in  the  other  world.  At  the  end  of  the  period  of  mourning,  or  on  the 
fourth  day  following  the  cremation,  the  relatives  wash  their  blackened  faces  and 
paint  them  with  gay  colors,  at  the  same  time  making  presents  to  all  the  guests, 
chiefly  to  those  who  assisted  in  burning  the  corpse.  Then  the  guests  are 
feasted  again,  and  the  ceremony  is  at  an  end.  The  heir  of  the  deceased  is  his 
sister's  son,  or,  if  he  has  no  such  relative,  a  younger  brother.  The  heir  was 
compelled  to  marry  the  widow." 

While  I  was  at  Chilkat  the  chief  of  the  Crow  clar  was  cremated  with 
most  savage  ceremonials,  no  doubt  well  worth  seeing,  to  which  I  was  invited; 
but  my  preparations  for  my  expedition  kept  me  from  accepting  the  invitation. 

Leaving  Killisnoo,  we  cross  Chatham  Strait  almost  at  riglit  angles  to  its 
course  (or  due  west),  here  about  ten  miles  wide,  and  enter  Peril  Straits,  about 
thirty-five  miles  long.  They  sweep  boldly  to  the  north  in  a  great  arc,  and,  like 
all  winding  and  .'•apidly  and  alternately  widening  and  narrowing  of  the  inland 
channels,  they  are  extremely  picturesque,  more  from  the  contrast  of  different 
scenes  so  swiftly  changed  before  one's  eyes,  than  from  anything  radically  new 
so  presented.  The  old  Russian  name  for  them  was  Paboogni  (meaning  "perni- 
cious") Strait,  and  thej  got  this  title  rather  from  an  incident  of  appetite  than 
bad  navigation.  In  the  latter  part  of  last  century  the  Russians  used  to  import 
the  poor  Aleuts  of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  far  to  the  westward,  as  mercenaries  to 
fight  thei  •  battles  for  them  against  the  T'hnkit  Indians  of  this  region  ;  and, 
while  encamped  here,  they  partook  of  a  large  number  of  mussels,  which  proved  , 
poisonous,  killing  some,  and  putting  many  on  the  sick  list  for  that  particular 
campaign.     In  some  of  the  very  contracted   places  the  tides  run  with  great 


.«# 


if 


(TO, 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


71 


velocity;  but,  by  taking  advantage  of  the  proper  times  (which  the  nearness  of 
Killisnoo  on  one  side  and  Sitka  on  the  other  makes  easy)  and  a  more  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  few  impediments,  the  dangers  to  navigation  here  are  now 
about  nil.  Once  through  Peril  Straits,  we  can  look  out  on  the  Pacific  Ocean 
through  Salisbury  Sound  for  a  few  minutes  before  turning  southward  through  a 
series  of  short  straits  and  channels  "  too  numerous  to  mention  ; "  and  then, 
after  twenty  to  twenty-five  miles  of  sailing,  we  come  to  Sitka,  the  capital  of 
the  Territory.  It  is  most  picturesquely  located  at  the  head  of  Sitka  Sound, 
through  which,  looking  in  a  southwest  direction,  the  Pacific  Ocean  is  plainly 
visible.  Looking  in  this  way,  its  bay  seems  full  of  pretty  little  islets,  sprinkled 
all  over  it,  that  are  almost  invisible  as  seen  from  the  ocean  when  approaching, 
so  densely  are  they  covered  with  timber,  and  so  exactly  like  the  timbered  hills 
of  the  mainland,  against  which  they  are  thrown.  The  steamer,  after  winding 
its  way  through  a  tortuous  channel,  finally  brings  to  at  a  commodious  wharf, 
with  the  city  before  you,  which  is  in  strange  contrast  with  the  wild,  rugged 
scenery  through  which  the  tourist  has  been  sailing.  To  our  left,  as  we  pass  on 
to  the  wharf,  is  the  Indian  village  of  the  Sitkas,  one  of  the  largest  among  the 
islands  of  the  inland  passage.  To  our  front  and  right  stretch  the  white 
settlements  of  the  town.  At  the  large  Indian  village,  which  is  near — or,  reall)', 
part  of — Sitka,  there  are  estimated  to  gather  fully  a  thousand  Indians  in  the 
winter  time,  the  summer  finding  them  partially  dispersed  over  a  greater  area  to 
gain  their  sustenance.  These  houses  are  like  those  described  as  being  near 
Wrangell.  In  one  way  they  have  somewhat  patterned  after  white  men,  in 
partitioning  off  the  ends  and  sides  of  these  large  rooms  into  sleeping  apart- 
ments by  canvas  and  cloth  drapery.  It  is  said  that  the  most  fiendish  cere- 
monies and  diabolical  cruelties  were  practiced  at  their  "house-warmings,"  so  to 
speak.  Before  the  white  men  put  a  stop  to  these  ceremonies,  a  slave  was  killed, 
with  the  greatest  cruelties,  under  each  of  the  corner  uprights;  and,  as  a  house 
could  not  have  less  than  four  of  these,  and  sometimes  had  more,  by  its  irreg- 
ularities, one  may  contemplate  the  suffering  with  which  a  large  village  like  that 
at  Sitka  has  been  baptized. 

In  the  town  proper  the  Greek  Church  is  the  most  conspicuous  and  interesting 
object  to  the  tourist,  and  especially  those  who  have  never  seen  one  of  this 
religion.  It  is  built  in  the  form  of  a  Greek  cross,  in  plan,  and  is  surmounted  by 
an  Oriental  dome  over  the  centre,  which  has  been  painted  an  emerald  green 
color.  One  wing  is  used  as  a  chapel,  and  contains,  besides  a  curious  Jont,  an 
exquisite  painting  of  the  Virgin  and  Child,  copied  from  the  celebrated  picture  at 
Moscow.  All  the  drapery,  I  was  told,  is  of  silver,  and  the  halo  of  gold;  so  of  cne 
painting  itself,  nothing  is  seen  but  the  faces  and  background.  The  chancel, 
which  is  raised  above  the  body  of  the  church,  is  approached  by  three  broad 
steps  leading  to  four  doors,  two  of  which  are  handsomely  carved  and  richly 
gilded,  and  contain  four  oval  and  two  square  bas  reliefs.  Above  is  a  large 
picture  of  the  Last  Supper,  covered,  like  that  of  the  Madonna,  witli  silver,  as  are 
two  others,  one  on  each  side  of  the  altar.     Across  the  threshold  of  these  doors 


72 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


i.r, 


no  woman  may  set  her  foot,  and  across  the  inner  ones  to  the  innermost  sanc- 
tuary none  but  the  priest  himself,  or  his  superiors  in  the  general  Greek  Church, 
or  the  white  Czar,  can  enter.  The  doors,  however,  usually  stand  open  ;  and  the 
priest  in  residence,  Father  Metropaulski,  is  exceedingly  courteous  to  visitors, 
showing  them  the  costly  and  magnificent  vestments  and  the  bishop's  crown, 
almost  covered  with  pearls  and  amc!-hysts.  The  ornaments  and  the  candelabra 
are  all  of  silver,  the  walls  are  hung  with  portraits  of  princes  and  prelates,  and 
the  general  effect  is  rich  in  the  extreme. 

Next  to  the  church  in  interest — with  some  visitors,  probably,  ranking  before 
it — is  the  old  Muscovite  castle  on  the  hill.  Here,  in  days  gone  by,  the  stern 
Romanoff  ruled  this  land,  and  Baron  Wrangell,  one  of  Russia's  many  cele- 
brated Polar  explorers,  held  sway.  It  is  said  that  it  has  been  twice  destroyed, 
once  by  fire  and  then  by  an  earthquake,  but  was  again  erected  with  such  staunch 
belongings  that  it  will  probably  stand  for  ages  much  as  it  is  to-day.  It  is  now 
used  as  an  office  for  United  States  Government  officials,  and  it  has  a  ball- 
room and  theatre.  The  whole  building  has  a  semi-deserted  and  melancholy 
appearance;  but  it  is  of  exceeding  interest,  speaking  to  us,  as  it  does,  of  a 
grander  history,  when  Sitka  was  the  metropolis  of  the  Pacific  coast  of  North 
America,  and  it  was  the  centre  from  which  such  power  emanated.  To  senti- 
mental tourists  I  will  relate  a  tradition  that  has  been  published  concerning  the 
stern  old  castle  ;  and,  whether  it  fits  the  truth  or  not,  it  fits  the  sombre 
surroundings  of  the  ancient  pile.  It  runs,  that,  when  Uaron  Romanoff  was  gov- 
ernor, he  had  living  with  him  an  orphan  niece  and  ward,  who,  like  all  orphan 
nieces  in  feudal  castles,  especially  those  who  figure  in  tradition,  was  very  beau- 
tiful. But,  when  the  baron  commanded  her  to  marry  a  beautiful  prince,  who 
was  a  guest  at  the  castle,  she  refused,  having  given  her  heart  to  a  handsome 
young  lieutenant  of  the  household.  The  old  baron,  who,  like  the  rest  of  his 
race  in  traditional  accounts,  was  an  accomplished  diplomate,  feigning  an  interest 
in  the  young  lieutenant  which  he  did  not  feel,  sent  him  away  on  a  short  expe- 
dition, and  in  the  mean  time  hurried  on  the  preparations  for  the  marriage  of  the 
unhappy  girl  to  the  prince.  Deprived  of  the  support  of  her  lover's  counsels  and 
presence,  she  yielded  to  the  threats  of  her  uncle,  and  the  ceremony  was  solem- 
nized. Half  an  hour  after  the  marriage,  while  the  rejoicing  and  the  gayety  were 
at  their  height,  the  young  lieutenant  strode  into  the  ball-room,  his  travel- 
stained  dress  and  haggard  appearance  contra  ting  strangely  with  the  glittering 
costumes  and  gay  faces  of  the  revelers  ;  and,  during  the  silence  which  followed 
his  ominous  appearance,  he  stepped  up  to  the  hapless  girl,  and  took  her  hand. 
After  gazing  for  a  few  moments  on  the  ring  the  prince  had  placed  there,  he, 
without  a  word,  and  before  any  one  could  interfere,  drew  a  dagger  from  his  belt, 
and  stabbed  her  to  the  heart.  In  the  wild  confusion  that  followed,  he  escaped 
from  the  castle  ;  and,  overcome  with  grief,  unable  to  live  without  the  one  he  so 
fondly  loved,  yet  ruthlessly  murdered,  he  threw  himself  into  the  sea.  And  now 
her  spirit  is  seen  on  the  anniversary  of  her  wedding  night,  her  slender  form 


% 


(M) 


74 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


i 


robed  in  heavy  silk  brocade,  pressing  her  hands  on  the  wound  in  her  heart,  the 
tears  streaming  from  her  eyes.  Sometimes,  before  a  severe  storm,  she  makes  her 
appearance  in  the  little  tower  at  the  lop  of  the  building  once  used  as  a  light- 
house.    There  she  burns  a  light  until  dawn  for  the  spirit  of  her  lover  at  sea. 

Almost  directly  west  from  Sitka,  about  fifteen  miles  distant,  is  Mount  Edge- 
cumbe,  so  named  by  CcuL,  it  having  previously  been  called  Mount  San  Jacinto 
by  Bodega  in  1775,  and  Mount  St.  Hyacinth  again  by  La  Perouse.  Tchirikov, 
before  all  others,  I  believe,  got  it  chronicled  as  Mount  St.  Lazarus  ;  and  it  looked 
as  if  it  would  go  through  the  whole  calendar  of  the  saints,  and  their  different 
national  changes,  if  it  had  not  gotten  pretty  firmly  rooted  as  Mount  Edgecumbe. 
It  is  nearly  3,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  looks  like  a  peak  of  5,000 
feet  cut  off  by  a  huge  shaving  plane  at  its  present  height.  This  truncated  apex 
is  a  crater,  said  to  be,  by  those  who  have  visited  it,  some  2,000  feet  in  diameter 
by  one-tenth  as  deep.  In  the  early  and  middle  summer  time,  the  snow  from  its 
table-like  crown  has  partially  disappeared,  and  the  bright  red  volcanic  rock 
projects  in  radiating  ridges  from  the  white  covering  that  is  disappearing, 
making  a  most  beautiful  crest  to  a  mountain  already  picturesque  by  its  singular 
isolation.  When  in  this  condition,  with  the  western  setting  sun  directly  over  it, 
and  its  golden  beams  radiating  upward,  and  the  royal  red  ridges  radiating  down- 
ward, both  thrown  against  their  background  of  blue  sky  and  water  and  white 
snow,  it  makes  a  superb  picture  that  the  brush  of  a  Turner  could  hardly  copy,  let 
alone  a  feeble  pen  describe. 

Lieutenant  C.  E.  S.  Wood,  who  visited  this  portion  of  Alaska  in  1877,  and  gave 
a  graphic  description  of  his  travels  in  the  Century  Magazine  of  July,  1882,  gives 
therein  the  following  interesting  Indian  legend  concerning  Mount  Edgecumbe: 

"One  drowsy  eve  we  saw  the  peak  of  Edgecumbe  for  the  last  time.  The 
great  truncated  cone  caught  the  hues  of  the  sunset,  and  we  could  note  the 
gloom  gathering  deeper  and  deeper  in  the  hollow  of  the  crater.  Our  Indians 
were  stolidly  smoking  the  tobacco  we  had  given  them,  and  were  resting  after 
the  labors  of  the  day  with  bovine  contentment.  Tah-ah-nah-kl6ck  related  to  us 
the  T'linkit  legend  of  Edgecumbe. 

"A  long  time  ago  the  earth  sank  beneath  the  water,  and  the  water  rose  and  cov- 
ered the  highest  places,  so  that  no  man  could  live.  It  rained  so  hard  that  it  was  as 
if  the  sea  fell  from  the  sky.  All  was  black,  and  it  became  so  dark,  that  no  man  knew 
another.  Then  a  few  people  ran  here  and  there  and  made  a  raft  of  cedar  logs;  but 
nothing  could  stand  against  the  white  waves,  and  the  raft  was  broken  in  two. 

"  On  one  part  floated  the  ancestors  of  the  T'linkits  ;  on  the  other,  the  parents 
of  all  other  nations.  The  waters  tore  them  apart,  and  they  never  saw  each 
other  again.  Now  their  children  are  all  different,  and  do  not  understand  each 
other.  In  the  black  tempest,  ChethI  was  torn  from  his  sister  Ah-gish-fthn-ahkon 
[The-woman-who-supports-the-earth].  ChethI  [symbolized  in  the  osprey]  called 
aloud  to  her,  '  You  will  never  see  me  again;  but  you  will  hear  my  voice  forever  I ' 
Then  he  became  an  enormous  bird,  and  flew  to  southwest,  till  no  eye  could 
follow  him.     Ah-gish-dhn-ahkon  climbed  above  tiie  waters,  and    reached   the 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


7» 


summit  of  Edgecumbe.  The  mountain  openc',  and  received  her  into  the 
bosom  of  the  earth.  That  hole  [the  crater]  is  where  she  went  d(nvn.  Ever 
since  that  time  she  has  held  the  earth  above  the  water.  The  earth  is  shaped 
liice  the  back  of  a  turtle,  and  rests  on  a  pillar  ;  Ah-gish-Ahn-ahkon  holds  the 
pillar.  Evil  spirits  that  wish  to  destroy  mankind  seek  to  overthrow  hci  and 
drive  her  away.  The  terrible  battles  are  long  and  fierce  in  the  lower  darkness. 
Often  the  pillar  rocks  and  sways  in  the  struggle,  and  the  earth  trembles  and 
seems  like  to  fall ;  but  Ah-gish-ahn-ahkon  is  good  and  strong,  so  the  earth  is 
safe.  Chethl  lives  in  the  bird  K.unna-K4lu-eth  ;  his  nest  is  in  the  top  of  the 
mountain,  in  the  hole  through  which  his  sister  disappeared. 

"He  carries  whales  in  his  claws  to  this  eyrie,  and  there  devours  them.  He 
swoops  from  his  hiding-place,  and  rides  on  the  edge  of  the  coming  storm.  The 
roaring  of  the  tempest  is  his  vdice  calling  to  his  lister.  He  claps  his  wings 
in  the  peals  of  thunder,  and  its  rumbling  is  the  ...stlingof  his  pinions.  The 
lightning  is  the  flashing  of  his  eyes." 

Looking  inland  are  the  glacier-clad  summits  of  the  interior  mountains. 
Vostovia  predominating,  where  few  i)eople,  even  among  the  ludians  of  the 
country,  have  ever  been.  Taking  all  its  surroundings,  it  may  be  well  said, 
as  has  been  written,  that  Sitka  liay  rivals  in  scenic  beauty  its  nearest  counter- 
part, the  far-famed  Bay  of  Naples.  Near  .Sitka  comes  in  a  beautiful  mount- 
ain stream  called  the  Indian  river.  A  most  picturesque  road  leads  out  to  this 
rambling  brook,  and  a  less  f'  cquented  trail  winds  up  its  valley  ;  but,  if  the 
steamer  stops  long  enough  to  warrant  the  tramp,  no  one  should  fail  to  stroll 
along  its  two  or  three  miles  of  winding  way,  embowered  in  absolutely  tropical 
foliage,  so  dense  and  deep  is  it.  It  is  the  only  road  worthy  of  the  name  in 
Alaska  ;  and,  if  one  wends  his  way  through  it,  and  then  combines  his  information 
acquired  thereby  with  a  view  of  the  Alpine  country  of  this  part  of  the  Territory, 
he  will  plainly  comprehend  why  there  are  no  more  roads  than  this  particular 
one,  and  feel  willing  to  give  full  credit  to  its  makers.  It  is  near  the  half-way 
point  of  the  journey,  also  ;  and  this  warrants  a  little  inshore  exercise  that  can 
be  had  at  no  other  stopping  place  so  well. 

About  ten  or  eleven  miles  south  of  Sitka,  on  the  mainland,  but  protected 
seaward  by  a  breakwater  of  (Necker)  islands,  is  Hot  Springs  Bay,  on  whose 
shores  are  springs  which  give  it  its  name.  About  six  or  seven  years  before  we 
obtained  the  Territory,  the  Russian  American  Fur  Company,  whose  headquarters 
were  at  Sitka  (since  Baron  Wrangell  established  them  there  in  1832),  built  a 
hospital  at  Hot  Springs,  which  was  said  to  have  had  wonderful  remedial  powers 
in  skin  and  rheumatic  diseases  ;  but,  for  some  reasons,  the  place  has  been  aban- 
doned (probably  the  lack  of  government  by  the  United  States),  and  the  build- 
ings are  reported  to  be  in  a  state  of  decay.  The  Indians  used  the  waters  for 
illness,  and  thus  called  the  attention  of  the  Russians  thereto.  The  temperature 
of  the  water  is  from  120  to  125  degrees,  and  it  contains  a  number  of  elements 
held  in  solution,  as  sulphur,  chlorine,  manganese,  sodium  and  iron,  besides  com- 
binations of  these,  and  with  other  elements.     It  is  worth  a  visit  to  see  these  hot 


(:e) 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


77 


springs,  with  the  thermometer  soaring  up  above  the  hundreds  ;  for,  in  a  day  or 
two,  by  way  of  strange  contrast,  you  will  be  among  glaciers  and  icebergs  tower- 
ing as  far  in  feet  above  your  head. 

The  only  way  out  of  Sitka  harbor,  without  putting  to  sea,  is  back  through  Peril 
Straits  again  ;  and,  passing  back,  one  can  hardly  realize  that  it  is  the  same  water- 
way, so  radically  different  are  the  views  presented.  In  the  harbor  of  Sitka  is 
Japonskoi  (Japanese)  Island,  which  may  be  identified  by  the  captain's  chart  of 
the  harbor,  and  which  has  a  curious  history.  Here,  about  eighty  years  ago,  an 
old  Japanese  junk,  that  had  drifted  across  the  sea  on  the  Kuro-Siwo,  or  Japan- 
ese currf'.t,  was  stranded,  and  the  Russians  kindly  cared  for  the  castaway 
sailoiS  who  had  survived  the  dreadful  drift,  and  returned  them  to  their  country, 
after  an  experience  that  is  seldom  equaled,  even  in  the  romantic  accounts  of 
maritime  misfortunes.  The  drifting  of  Japanese  junks,  and  those  of  adjacent 
countries,  is  not  so  infrequent  as  one  would  suppose,  and  this  fact  might  set  the 
reflective  man  to  thinking  as  to  the  ethnical  possibilities  accruing  therefrom,  the 
settlement  of  North  America,  etc. 

This  Kuro-Siwo,  or  Japanese  current,— sometimes  called  black  current,  or 
Japanese  black  current,  from  its  hue, — corresponds  in  many  ways  to  the  Gulf 
Stream  of  the  Atlantic  :  like  it,  its  waters  are  warmed  in  the  equatorial  regions 
under  a  vertical  sun  ;  and,  like  it,  a  great  portion  of  these  waters  are  carried 
northward  in  its  flow,  and  their  heat  poured  upon  the  eastern  shores  of  its  ocean, 
till  their  climate  is  phenomenally  temperate  compared  with  the  western  shores  in 
the  same  parallels.  Sitka  is  said  to  have,  as  a  result  of  facing  this  current,  a 
mean  winter  temperature  of  a  point  half  way  between  Baltimore  and  Washing- 
ton, or  slightly  milder  than  the  winter  temperature  of  Baltimore.  It  is  said  to 
be  no  unusual  thing  to  suffer  from  an  ice  famine  in  Sitka.  A  short  way  inland 
the  winters  are  not  so  temperate,  more  snow  falling  at  that  season,  while  rain 
characterizes  the  coast  face  ;  but  during  the  summer,  or  excursion  season,  these 
rains  are  not  unpleasantly  frequent.  I  take  the  following  from  a  letter  from 
Sitka,  and  published  in  the  San  Francisco  Bulletin  of  January  9,  1882,  before 
this  country  was  really  opened  to  excursionists,  although  the  subject  was  being 
discussed,  so  much  had  been  heard  of  this  wonderland  : 

"  The  climate,  as  shown  by  the  meteorological  data  collected  by  the  signal 
service  observers,  is  not  of  such  a  disagreeable  character  as  some  would  have  us 
believe.  The  scientific  data  collected  and  tabulated  for  the  year  1881,  asihovvn 
by  the  records  at  Sitka,  Chilkoot,  Juneau  and  Killisnoo,  disprove  most  emphat- 
ically the  seemingly  malicious  assertions  in  reference  to  its  climate. 


Mean  Temperature  . 
Max.  Temperature  . 
Min.  Temperature . . 
Total  rainfall,  inches 


April. 
42.5 

May. 

June. 

July. 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

45  4 

51  2 

54.2 

56.7 

54- 

46.3 

41  8 

56.5 

6i. 

65. 

67. 

79 

63.8 

~     Q 

52.8 

31- 

3' 

41. 

43- 

43-9 

40.5 

32. 

22.5 

4.21 

31 

I  54 

4  4 

1.98 

12. II 

5.04 

13-5 

Dec. 


34-8 

449 
14. 

10.52 


78 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


"  A  study  of  the  above  data,  combined  with  an  actual  experience,  compels 
the  writer  to  admit  that  the  summer  weather  of  Southeastern  Alaska  is  the 
most  delightful  that  can  be  enjoyed  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  this 
vast  territory,  and  throws  in  the  shade  all  the  boasted  claims  of  many,  if  not  most, 
of  the  famous  summer  resorts  in  the  '  States.'  There  were  only  two  days  during 
the  long,  pleasant  summer,  that  were  rendered  disagreeable  by  that  feeling  of 
oppressiveness  caused  by  heat.  The  nights  were  cool  and  pleasant  ;  the  days 
always  warm  enough  for  open  windows,  through  which  the  invigorating  breezes 
from  the  snow-capped  mountains  or  the  broad  Pacific,  would  blow  at  will  ;  the 
long,  bright  days,  when  the  sun  disappeared  only  for  a  few  hours,  when  twilight, 
after  sunset,  seemed  to  mingle  with  the  rays  of  early  dawn  ;  the  nights  beauti- 
fied by  the  dancing  beams  of  the  aurora  borealis,  and  the  myriad  stars  that 
seemed  as  if  hung  on  invisible  threads  in  the  deep  blue  firmament.  *  * 
In  regard  to  the  summer  weather,  I  reiterate  that  no  one  could  possibly  choose 
a  more  delightful  place  in  which  to  spend  a  portion  of  the  heated  term  than  in 
making  a  trip  through  this  portion  of  the  Territory." 

"In  Alaska,  in  midsummer,"  according  to  a  late  letter,  "the  almost  con- 
tinuous light  of  day  shines  upon  brigiit  green  slope?,  shaded  here  and  there 
with  dark  timber  belts,  rising  up  from  the  deep  blue  waters.  An  endless  variety 
of  bright-hued  flowers,  the  hum  of  insects,  and  melodious  song  of  birds, 
*  *  *  would  cause  a  stranger,  suddenly  translated  there,  tc  think 
himself  in  any  country  but  Alaska." — Chicago  Herald,  iSSc 

When  we  are  some  five  or  six  miles  back  on  our  northward  way  tC'  Peril 
Straits,  a  pretty  little  bay,  on  Baronoff  Island,  is  pointed  out  to  us,  on  our  star- 
board (by  this  time  a'l  the  passengers  are  able  seamen)  side,  called  Old  Harbor, 
or  Starri-Gaven,  in  Russian.  It  was  there  that  Baronoff  built  his  first  for  ,  called 
the  Archangel  Gabriel,  in  1799,  which,  after  a  number  of  rapidly  recurring 
vicissitudes,  was  annihilated,  and  its  garrison  massacred,  by  the  Sitka  Im'ians, 
three  years  later.  Baronoff  re-established  his  power  at  the  present  site  of  Sitka, 
calling  the  new  place  Archangel  Michael, — Archangel  Gabriel  having  failed  in 
his  duty  as  a  protector  ;  and  from  this  name  it  was  called  New  .\rchangel, 
which  changed  to  Sitka  with  the  change  of  flags  in  1867,  although  American 
maps  had  dubbed  it  Sitka  before  this. 

Once  more  in  Chatham  Strait,  with  the  ship's  head  pointed  northward,  we 
are  on  our  v/ay  to  the  northernmost  recesses  of  the  inland  passage,  and  with 
the  greatest  wonders  of  our  wonderland  ahead  of  us.  At  its  northern  end, 
Chatham  Strait  divides  into  two  narrow  waterways.  Icy  Strait  leading  off  to  the 
H-est,  to  the  land  and  waters  of  glaciers  and  icebergs,  while  Lynn  Canal  con- 
tmues  broad  Chatham  to  the  north.  Lynn  Canal  is  a  double-headed  inlet,  the 
western  arm  at  its  head  being  called  the  Chilkat  Inlet,  and  rhe  eastern  arm 
the  Chilkoot  Inlet,  after  two  tribes  of  T'linkit  I  '.nans  living  on 
these  respective  channels.  It  is  a  beautiful  sheet  kA  watci',  more  Alpine  in 
character  than  any  yet  entered,  Glaciers  of  blue  and  emerald  ice  can  be  seen 
almost  everywhere,  peeping  from  underneath  the  snc  w-capped  mountains  and 


1: 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


70 


V 


1 


ranges  that  closely  enclose  this  \vell-i)rotecled  canal,  and  render  it  picturesque 
in  the  extreme.  Here  is  the  Eagle  Glacier  on  the  right,  and  dozens  that  have 
never  been  named,  and  a  mosf  missive  one  (Davison's)  on  our  left,  just  as  we 
enter  Chilkat  Inlet.  At  the  head  of  Chilkat  Inlet  is  I'vramid  Harbor,  so 
named  after  an  island  of  pyramidal  profile  in  its  waters.  It  marks  the  highest 
point  you  will  probably  reach  in  the  inland  passage,  unless  Chilkoot  Inlet  is 
entered,  which  is  occasionally  done. 

We  are  now  in  the  land  of  the  Chilkats,  one  of  ttie  most  aggiessive  and 
arrogant,  yet  withal  industrious  and  wealthy,  Indian  tribes  of  the  T'linkit:,.     It 


CHIi.KAT    BLANKET 

should  be  remembere'.  that  all  the  Alaskan  Indians  of  the  inland  pa,ssage 
(except  the  Hy-dahs  of  r>i.\on  Entrance)  are  bound  toirether  by  a  common  lan- 
guage, called  the  T'linkit  ;  but  having  so  little  el.se  in  sympathy  that  the  sub- 
tribes  often  war  against  each  other,  these  sub-tribes  having  hrparate  chiefs, 
medicine  men  and  cou-  tries,  in  fact,  and  being  known  by  differrtu  names.  We 
have  already  spoken  of  the  Sticktens,  Kootznahoos.  Sitkas,  etr  •.  and  by  these 
names  they  are  known  among  the  whites  of  this  portion  of  the  'i'erritory,  the  title 
T'linkit  being  seldom  heard.    At  the  salmon  cannery,  on  the  west  shore,  a  small 


I . 


m 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


but  recently  built  village  of  Chilkats  is  clustered  ;  but,  to  see  them  in  "all  their 
glory,"  the  Chilkat  river  should  be  ascended  to  their  principal  village  of  Kluk- 
wan. 

Of  this  country, — the  Chilkat  and  Chilkoot, — Mrs.  Eugene  S.  Willard,  the 
wife  of  the  missionary  presiding  at  Haines  Mission,  in  Chilkoot  Inlet,  and  who 
has  resided  here  a  number  of  years,  writes  in  the  Century  Magazine,  of 
October,  1885: 

"  From  Portage  Bay(of  Chilkoot  Inlet)  west  to  the  Chilkat  river  and  southward 
to  the  point,  lies  the  largest  tract  of  arable  land,  so  far  as  my  knowledge  goes, 
in  Southeastern  Alaska,  while  the  climate  does  not  differ  greatly  from  that  of 
Pennsylvania  *  *  *  Here  summer  reaches  perfection,  never 
sialtry,  rarely  chilling.  *  *  *  j^  jvjay  the  world  and  the  sun  wake 
np  together.  In  his  new  zeal,  we  find  old  Sol  up  before  us  at  2:15  a.  m., 
and  he  urges  us  on  until  9:45  at  night.  Even  then  the  light  is  only  turned 
down  ;  for  the  darkest  hour  is  like  early  summer  twilight,  not  too  dark  for 
reading. 

"From  our  front  door  to  the  pebbly  beach  below,  the  wild  sweet  pea  runs 
rampant ;  while  under  and  in  and  through  it  spring  the  luxuriant  phlox, 
Indian  rice,  the  white-blossomed  'yun-ate,'  and  wild  roses  which  make  redo- 
lent every  breath  from  the  bay.  Passing  out  the  back  door,  a  few  steps  lead  us 
into  the  dense  pine  woods,  whose  solitudes  are  peopled  with  great  bears,  and 
owls,  and — T'linkit  ghosts  !  while  eagles  and  ravens  soar  without  number.  On 
one  tree  alone  we  counted  thirty  bald  eagles.  These  trees  are  heavily  draped 
with  moss,  hanging  in  rich  festoons  from  every  limb  ;  and  into  the  rich  carpet- 
ing underneath,  one's  foot  may  sink  for  inches.  Here  the  ferns  reach  mam- 
moth size,  though  many  of  fairy  daintiness  are  found  among  the  moss  ;  and  the 
devil's  walking  .stick  stands  in  royal  beauty  at  every  turn,  with  its  broad,  grace- 
ful leaves,  and  waxen,  red  berries. 

"  Out  again  into  the  sunshine,  and  we  discover  meadows  of  grass  and  clover, 
through  which  run  bright  little  streams,  grown  over  with  willows,  just  as  at 
home.  And  here  and  there  are  clumps  of  trees,  so  like  the  peach  and  apple, 
that  a  lump  comes  into  your  tiiroat.  But  you  lift  your  eyes,  and  there  beyond 
is  the  broad  shining  of  the  river,  and  above  it  the  ever-present,  dream-dispel- 
ling peaks  of  snow,  with  their  blue  ice  sliding  down  and  down.         *         * 

"The  Chilkat  people  long  ago  gained  for  themselves  the  reputation  of  being 
the  most  fierce  and  warlike  tribe  in  the  Archipelago.  Certain  it  is,  that, 
between  themselves  and  southern  Hy-dah,  there  is  not  another  which  can  com- 
pare with  them  in  strength,  either  as  to  numbers,  intelligence,  physical  perfec- 
tion, or  wealth.  *  *  *  'fj^g  children  always  belong  to  their 
mother,  and  are  of  her  to-tem.  This  to-temic  relation  is  considered  clo.ser  than 
that  of  blood.  If  the  father's  and  mother's  tribes  be  at  war,  the  children  must 
take  the  maternal  side,  even  if  against  their  father.  *  *  *  In  very 
rare  cases  a  woman  has  two  husbands  ;  oftener  we  find  a  man  with  two  wives, 
even  three  ;  but  more  freijuently  met  than  either  is  the  consecutive  wife. 


mmmm 


' 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


81 


"TheChilkats  are  comparatively  an  industrious  people.  On  the  mainland 
we  have  none  of  the  deer  which  so  densely  populate  the  islanils,  owing,  it  is 
said,  to  the  presence  of  bears  and  wolves  ;  but  we  have  the  white  mountain 
goat,  which,  while  it  is  lamb,  is  delicious  meat.  From  its  black  horns  the 
finest  carved  spoons  are  made,  and  its  pelt,  when  washed  and  combed,  forms  a 
necessary  part  of  the  Indian's  bedding  and  household  furniture.  The  comb- 
ings are  made  by  the  women  into  rolls  similar  to  tho,se  made  by  machinery  at 
home.  Then,  with  a  great  basket  of  these  white  rolls  on  one  side,  and  a  basket 
on  the  other  to  receive  the  yarn,  a  woman  sits  on  the  floor,  and,  on   her  bared 


T'Lir'KET,>WAR    CANOE. 

knee,  with  her  palm,  rolls  it  into  cr.rd.  This  they  dye  in  most  brilliant  colors 
made  of  roots,  grasses  and  moss,  an  1  of  different  kinds  of  bark. 

"  It  is  of  this  yarn  that  the  famous  Chilkat  dancing-blanket  is  made.  This  is 
done  by  the  women  with  great  nicety  and  care.  The  warp,  all  white,  is  hung 
from  a  handsomely  carved  upright  frame.  Tito  it  the  bright  colors  are 
wnnight  by  means  of  ivory  shuttles.  The  work  's  protected  during  the  tedious 
course  of  its  manufacture  by  a  covering  resembling  oiled  silk,  made  from  the 
dressed  intestines  of  the  bear.  Bright  striped  stockings  of  tiiis  yarn  are  also 
knitted  on  little  needles  whittled  from  wood." 

An  illustration  of  a  dancing-blanket  is  given  on  page  ;';.  These  are  made 
by  several  of  the  T'linkit  tribes  ;  but  the  Chilkats  so  predominate  in  the  manufact- 


\'^  <^:^y' 


'T^psammmmmmmm 


;.f    mm-.: 


8.i  THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 

• 

ure,  bo'h  in  numbers  and  excellence,  that  you  seldom  hear  them  mentioned  in 
Alaska,  except  as  Chilkat  blankets.-  Nearly  all  of  the  'I'linkit  tribes,  as  the  tourist 
will  have  seen  by  this  time,  spend  most  of  their  out-of-door  time  in  the  water, 
in  their  canoes  ;  and  this  constant  semi-aquatic  life  has  told  on  their  physical 
development  to  the  extent  of  giving  them  very  dwarfed  and  illy  developed 
lower  limbs,  although  the  trunk  and  arms  are  well  developed.  Whin  walking, 
they  seem  to  shamble  along  more  like  an  aquatic  fowl  on  land  than  a  human 
being.  The  Chilkats  are  noticeable  exceptions.  Although  their  country  is 
much  more  mountainous  in  appearance  than  others  lower  down,  yet  here  are 
some  of  the  most  accessible  of  the  few  mountain  passes  by  which  the  interior,  a 
rich  fur-bearing  district,  can  be  gained.  The  Chilkats  have  yearly  taken 
trading  goods  from  the  white  men,  lashed  them  into  packs  of  about  a  hundred 
pounds,  and  carried  them  on  their  backs  through  these  glacier-clad  passes,  and 
traded  them  for  furs,  bringing  them  out  in  the  same  way.  They  monopolized 
the  trade  by  the  simple  process  of  prohibiting  the  interior  Indians  from  coming 
to  the  sea-coast  to  trade.  The  Chilkats  therefore  are  probably  the  richest  tribe 
of  Indians  in  the  Northwest,  the  chief  having  two  houses  full  of  blankets,  their 
standard  of  value,  at  the  village  of  Kluk-wan. 

To  those  who  find  their  greatest  pleasure  in  a  rough,  out-of-door  life,  let 
them  leave  the  steamer  at  this  point,  hire  three  or  four  Indians  to  carry  their 
company  effects  on  their  backs,  and  make  an  Alpine  journey  to  the  head  of  the 
Yukon  river,  where  lakes  aggregating  ir'^  miles  in  length  can  be  passed  over  in 
a  canoe.  The  route  leads  up  the  Dayay  river,  over  the  Perrier  Pass  ;n  the 
Kotusk  Mountains.  The  trip  could  be  made  between  visiting  steamers,  and  I 
will  guarantee  the  persons  will  come  back  with  more  muscle  than  they  took  in. 

Bidding  good-bye  to  the  picturesque  country  of  the  Chilkats,  the  steamer's 
head  is  turned  south  again  ;  and,  when  just  about  ready  to  leave  Lynn  Canal,  we 
entered  an  intricate  series  of  channels  bearing  eastward,  and  which  i)ring  us  to 
the  great  mining  town  of  Juneau,  where  many  Alaskan  hopes  are  centred. 
This  is  what  a  correspondent  of  the  Chicago  Times,  under  date  of  February  23, 
1885,  says  of  this  Alaskan  town  and  its  curious  history  : 

"  The  centre  from  which  radiates  whatever  of  excitement  and  interest  there 
is  in  Alaskan  mines  is  Douglas  Island.  The  history  of  the  discovery  of  ore 
near  this  island,  which  eventually  led  to  the  location  of  the  present  much-talked- 
of  property,  is  similar  to  that  attending  the  finding  of  most  of  the  laryje  mines  in 
the  West.  It  seems  that  some  half-dozen  years  ago  two  needy  and  seedy  pros- 
pectors named  Juneau  and  Harris  arrived  at  an  Indian  village  that  still  remains 
visible  on  the  shore  across  the  bay  from  Douglas  Island,  in  search  of  ore.  They 
prospected  the  country  as  thoroughly  us  they  could,  with  but  little  succe'>>,  and 
were  about  to  return  home  when  an  Indian  said  that  he  knew  where  jrold  existed, 
and  that  he  would  reveal  the  place  for  a  certain  sum  of  money.  Hardly  believ- 
ing, but  yet  curious.  Harris  and  Juneau  accepted  tlu'  offer,  and.  with  their 
guide,  set  out  on  a  pilgrimage  into  the  interior  to  i  spot  now  known  as  'The 
Basin.'      After  a  long   tramp  through  the  forests,  and  up  a  deep  valley,  the 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


83 


Indian  showed  them  a  place  where  there  were  nuj;gets  of  free  g(  Id  and  dirt, 
which,  when  panned,  yielded  a  handsome  return.  Claims  were  immediately 
staked  out,  and  the  a.lventurers  began  their  work  in  earnest.  Later,  the  fact  of 
the  discovery  became  known,  and  other  miners  entered  the  valley,  and  the 
region  gained  no  little  celebrity,  and  became  the  scene  of  much  animation. 
Four  years  the  work  progressed,  and  a  town,  which  to-day  is  of  respectable  size 
and  great  expectations,  was  founded,  and  christened  Juneau. 

"  The  Douglas  Island  mine  is  located  within  fifty  yards  of  the  waters  of 
Juneau  Bay,  and  was  discovered  by  a  man  named  Tread  well,  who  sold  his 
claim  a  year  or  two  ago  to  a  San  Francisco  company.  The  new  owners  set  up 
a  fine  stamp-mill  to  begin  with,  and  made  thorough  tests  of  the  ore.  It  is  a  120- 
stamp  mill,  the  largest  in  the  world,  and  the  company  has  refused,  it  is  said, 
$16,000,000  for  the  mine." 

Since  the  above  was  written,  and  as  late  as  last  August,  reports  from 
there  gave  the  astonishing  showing  of  enough  ore  in  sight  to  keep  the  120- 


T'LINKET    CARVED    SPOONS. 
(Made  from  the  Horns  of   Mountain  Goats.) 

Stamp  mill  "  running  for  a  life-time."  The  uninitiated  in  mining  mills,  ledges 
and  lodes,  may  grasp  the  value  of  the  mine  by  saying  its  output  for  a  twenty- 
days  run  of  the  stamp-mill  wjs  $100,000  in  gold,  or  at  the  rate  of  $1,800,000 
per  year ;  which,  estimating  its  value  on  an  income  of  five  per  cent,  annually, 
would  make  the  mine  worth  $36,000,000,  or  just  five  times  the  amount  we  paid 
for  the  whole  Territory.  There  is  no  doubt  whatever  in  the  minds  of  many 
experts,  that  there  are  a  number  of  such  places  as  theTreadwell  mine  yet  to  be 
found,  the  great  difficulty  of  prospecting  in  the  dense,  deep  mass  of  fallen  tim- 
ber covered  with  wet  moss  and  thick  underbrush  on  the  steepest  mountain 
sides,  coupled  with  the  little  probability  of  the  Treadwell  being  an  isolated  case 
in  such  a  uniformly  Alpine  country,  amply  justifying  them  in  coming  to  such  con- 
clusions. A  visit  to  the  mines  is  one  the  tourists  can  readily  make.  At  Juneau 
we  find  the  Auk  and  Takoo  bands  of  T'linkits  in  a  village  near  by,  where  nearly 
all  that  has  been  said  regardmg  Alaskan  Indians  may  be  here  repeated.      The 


— lOl' 


84 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


very  curious  spoons  they  carve  from  the  horns  of  the  mountain  goat,  which  are 
figured  on  page  83,  and  beautifully  woven  mats,  and  the  baskets  shown  on 
page  66,  may  be  purchased  ;  and,  in  leaving  a  few  pieces  of  silver  among 
them  for  their  own  handiwork,  little  as  it  is  that  we  have  thus  done  for  them,  it 
is  far  more  than  the  extremists  of  either  side  in  the  Indian  question  have  done, 
those  who  would  exterminate,  or  those  who  would  sentimentalize  in  print  over 
their  wrongs. 

Bidding  the  mining  metropolis  of  Alaska  farewell,  our  bowsprit  is  once 
more  pointed  for  the  Pacific  Sea,  after  rounding  Douglas  Island,  but,  before 
we  reach  it,  or  get  quite  to  it,  we  turn  northward  and  enter  Glacier  Bay,  its 
name  signifying  its  main  attractions.  Glaciers,  which  are  great  rivers  or  sheets 
of  ice  made  from  compacted  snows,  are  functions  as  much  of  altitude  as  of  high 
latitude;  and  both  unite  here,  with  an  air  charged  with  moisture  from  the  warm 
Pacific  waters,  to  make  the  grand  glaciers  which  are  to  be  seen  in  this  bay.  In 
the  immediate  vicinity  are  the  Mount  St.  Elias  Alps,  a  snowy  range  which  cul- 
minates in  the  well-known  peak  from  which  it  derives  its  name;  and,  radiating 
from  their  flanks,  come  down  these  rivers  of  ice,  reaching  the  sea-level  m  the 
greatest  perfection  in  GlacierBay,  the  largest  one  of  the  grand  group  being  the 
Muir  Glacier,  after  Professor  John  Muir,  the  scientist,  of  California,  who  is  said 
to  be  the  ♦^rst  to  discover  it.  I  will  give  the  language  of  the  man  who  claims 
to  be  the  second  to  arrive  upon  the  scene,  and  who  gives  his  account  in  the  St. 
Louis  Globe- Democrat,  writing  from  Glacier  Bay,  July  14,  1883: 

"When  Dick  Willoughby  told  of  the  great  glacier,  thirty  miles  up  the  bay, 
the  thud  of  whose  falling  ice  could  be  heard  and  felt  at  his  house,  the  captain 
of  the  '  Idaho  '  said  he  would  go  there,  and  took  this  Dick  Willoughby  along 
to  find  the  place  and  prove  the  tale.  Away  we  went  coursing  up  Glacier  Bay,  a 
fleet  of  112  little  icebergs  gayly  sailing  out  to  meet  us  as  we  left  our  anchorage 
the  next  morning.  Entering  into  these  unknown  and  unsurveyed  waters,  the  lead 
was  cast  through  miles  of  bottomless  channels  ;  and,  when  the  pilot  neared  a 
green  and  mountainous  little  island,  he  made  me  an  unconditional  present  of 
the  domain,  and  duly  entered  its  bearings  on  the  ship's  log.  For  a  summer 
resort  my  islan  i  possesses  unusual  advantages,  and  I  hereby  invite  all  suffering 
and  perspiring  St.  Louis  to  come  to  that  emerald  spot  in  latitude  58  degrees  29 
minutes  north,  and  longitude  135  degrees  52  minutes  west  from  Greenwich,  and 
enjoy  the  July  temperature  of  42  degrees,  the  whale  fishing,  the  duck  hunting, 
and  a  sight  of  the  grandest  glacier  in  the  world. 

"But  one  white  man  had  ever  visited  the  glacier  before  us,  and  he  was  the 
irrepressible  geologist  and  scientist,  John  Muir,  who  started  out  in  an  Indian 
canoe,  with  a  few  blankets  and  some  hard-tack,  and  spent  days  scrambling  over 
the  icy  wastes.  Feeling  our  way  along  carefully,  we  cast  anchor  beside  a 
grounded  iceberg,  and  the  photographers  were  rowed  off  to  a  small  island  to 
take  the  view  of  the  ship  in  the  midst  of  that  arctic  scenery.  Mount  Crillon 
showed  his  hoary  head  to  us  in  glimpses  between  the  clouds  ;  and  then,  rounding 
Willoughby  Island,  which  the  owner  declares  is  solid  marble  of  a  quality  to  rival 


mmmmmim^ 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


86 


that  of  Pentelicus  and  Carrara,  we  saw  the  full  front  of  the  great  Muir  Glaciei, 
where  it  dips  down  and  breaks  into  the  sea.  At  the  first  breathless  glance  at 
that  glorious  ice-world,  all  fancies  and  dreams  were  surpassed  :  the  marvelous 
beauty  of  those  shining,  silvery  pinnacles  and  spires,  the  deep  blue  buttresses, 
the  arches  and  aisles  of  that  fretted  front,  struck  one  with  awe.  In  all  Switzer- 
land there  is  nothing  comparable  to  these  Alaskan  glaciers,  where  the  frozen 
wastes  rise  straight  from  the  sea,  and  a  steamer  can  go  up  within  an  eighth  of  a 
mile,  and  cruise  beside  them.  Add  to  the  picture  of  high  mountains  and  snowy 
glaciers  a  sapphire  bay  scattered  over  with  glittering  little  icebergs,  and  nature 
can  supply  nothing  more  to  stir  one's  soul,  to  rouse  the  fancy  and  imagination, 
and  enchant  the  senses.  The  vastness  of  this  Muir  Glacier  is  enough  alone  to 
overpower  one  with  a  sense  of  the  might  and  strength  of  these  forces  of  nature. 
Dry  figures  can  give  one  little  idea  of  the  great,  desolate  stretches  of  gray  ice 
and  snow  that  slope  out  of  sight  behind  the  jutting  mountains,  and  the  tumbled 
and  broken  front  forced  down  to  and  into  the  sea.  Although  not  half  of  the 
glacier  has  been  explored,  it  is  said  to  extend  back  40  miles. 

"What  we  could  know  accurately  was,  that  the  front  of  the  glacier  was  two 
miles  across,  and  that  the  ice-wall  rose  50a  and  1,000  feet  from  the  water.  The 
lead  cast  at  the  point  nearest  to  the  icy  front  gave  eighty  fathoms,  or  240  feet, 
of  water  ;  and,  in  the  midst  of  those  deep  oundings,  icebergs  filled  with 
boulders  lay  grounded  with  forty  feet  of  their  summits  visible  above  water. 
At  very  low  tide,  there  is  a  continual  crash  of  falling  ice  ;  and,  for  the  half-day 
we  spent  beside  this  glacier,  there  was  a  roar  as  of  artillery  every  few  minutes, 
when  tons  of  ice  would  go  thundering  down  into  the  water.  After  the  prosaic 
matter  of  lunch  had  been  settled,  and  we  had  watched  the  practical-minded 
steward  order  his  men  down  on  the  iceberg  to  cut  off  a  week's  supply  with  their 
axes,  we  embarked  in  the  life-boats,  and  landed  in  a  ravine  beside  the  glacier. 
*  *  *  We  wandered  at  will  over  the  seamed  and  ragged  surface, 
the  ice  cracked  under  our  feet  with  a  pleasant  raid-winter  sound,  and  the  wind 
blew  keenly  from  over  those  hundreds  of  miles  of  glacier  fields;  but  there  were 
the  gurgle  and  hollow  roar  of  the  water  heard  in  every  deep  crevasse,  and 
trickling  streams  spread  a  silver  network  in  the  sunshine.  Reluctantly  we 
obeyed  the  steamer's  whistle,  and  started  back  to  the  boats. 

"A  magnificent  sunset  flooded  the  sky  that  night,  and  filled  every  icy  ravine 
with  rose  and  orange  lights.  At  the  last  view  of  the  glacier,  as  we  steamed 
away  from  it,  the  whole  brow  was  glorified  and  transfigured  with  the  fires  of 
sunset ;  the  blue  and  silvery  pinnacles,  the  white  and  shining  front  floating 
dreamlike  on  a  roseate  and  amber  sea,  and  the  range  and  circle  of  dull  violet 
mountains  lighting  their  glowing  summits  into  a  sky  flecked  with  crimson  and 
gold." 

Since  the  above  was  written,  in  July,  1883,  Glacier  Bay  has  been  one  of  the 
constant  visiting  points  of  the  excursion  steamer,  and  the  experience  of  two  or 
three  years  has  shown  the  company  how  to  exhibit  this  great  panorama  of 
nature  to  its  pa::rons  to  the  best  advantage,  and  one  will  now  be  astonished  at 


86 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


i 

:  s 


1- 

I  : 

1  ' 

I 


■';  i 


I 


the  ease  with  vhich  the  whole  field  may  be  surveyed  in  this  the  most  wonderful 
bay  on  a  line  of  steamboat  travel. 

Our  same  correspondent  speaks  of  an  unknown  passage  down  which  they 
traveled  in  a  way  that  will  delight  the  heart  of  a  Nimrod  ;  but  he  should  have 
added  that  almost  half  the  inland  passage  is  of  that  character  so  far  as  the 
general  world  is  wiser  concerning  it,  and  half  of  this,  again,  may  be  wholly 
unknown,  offering  one  of  the  finest  fields  for  short  explorations  without  any  of 
the  dangers  and  difficulties  which  so  often  beset  greater  undertakings,  and  rob 
them  of  all  pleasure  while  they  are  being  prosecuted,  and  only  compensating 
the  explorer  in  the  resiiUs  attained.     Here  is  what  he  has  to  say  : 

"  For  the  t\Venty  miles  that  we  had  come  down  the  beautiful  inlet,  the  coast 
survey  chc.us  showed  an  unbroken  stretch  of  dry  land.  To  the  sportsman 
that  unknown  inlet  is  the  dreamed-of  paradise.  When  we  went  out  in  the 
small  boats,  salmon  and  flounders  could  be  seen  darting  in  schools  through  the 
water  ;  and,  as  we  approached  the  mouth  of  a  creek,  the  freshening  current  was 
alive  with  the  fish.  The  stewards  who  went  to  the  shore  with  the  tank-boats 
for  fresh  water,  startled  seven  ueer  as  they  pushed  their  way  to  the  foot  of  a 
cascade,  and  the  young  men  caught  thirteen  great  salmon  with  their  own  inex- 
perienced spearing.  The  captain  of  the  ship  took  his  rifle,  and  was  rowed  away 
to  shallow  waters,  where  he  shot  a  salmon,  waded  in,  and  threw  it  ashore. 
While  wandering  along  after  some  huge  bear  tracks,  he  saw  an  eagle  at  work 
on  his  salmon,  and  another  fine  shot  laid  the  bird  of  freedom  low.  When  the 
captain  returned  to  the  ship  he  threw  the  eagle  and  salmon  on  deck,  and,  at  the 
size  of  the  former,  every  one  marveled.  The  outspread  wings  measured  the 
traditional  six  feet  from  tip  to  tip,  and  the  beak,  the  claws,  and  the  huge,  stiff 
feathers  were  rapidly  seized  upon  as  trophies  and  souvenirs  of  the  day.  A' 
broad  double  rainbow  arched  over  us  as  v/e  left  the  lovely  niche  between  the 
mountains,  and  then  we  swept  back  to  Icy  Straits,  and  started  out  to  the  open 
ocean." 

But  we  will  not  confine  ourselves  to  the  description  of  one  person  in  consid- 
ering this  the  most  fascinating  and  curious  scene  presented  to  the  Alaskan 
tourists.  Grand,  even  to  the  extent  of  being  almost  appalling,  as  are  the 
Alaskan  fjords,  they  are  but  the  Yosemite  or  Colorado  Parks,  with  navigable 
valleys,  as  they  would  appear  greatly  enlarged ;  much  as  we  are  awe- 
struck at  the  feet  of  Mount  St.  Elias,  it  is  but  Tacoma  or  Shasta  in  grander 
proportions,  and  so  on  through  the  list  of  scenes  we  view  :  but  in  the  glaciers 
we  have  no  counterpart  that  can  be  viewed  from  a  steamer's  deck,  unless  the 
polar  zones  themselves  be  invaded  ;  and  here,  in  fact,  we  view  the  grandest 
sight  to  be  seen  in  that  dreary  zone,  without  any  of  its  many  dangers.  Says  Pro- 
fessor Denman,  of  San  Francisco,  who  has  devoted  much  of  his  attention  to 
glaciers,  and  especially  these  of  Alaska,  compared  with  which  he  pro- 
nounces those  to  be  seen  in  Switzerland  and  other  parts  of  Europe  to  be 
"babies  :" 

"  Muir  Glacier  is  a  spectacle  whose  grandeur  can  not  be  described, — a  vast 


SCENES  AMONG  THE  ALASKAN  GLACIERS.    (From  Photographs) 

No.  1  (Top'.   A  Near  View  of  the  Terminal  Front  of  the  Muir  Glacier.      No.  2.   Looking  Seaward  frorr  the  Suiface 
the  Glacier.     No   3.  The  Excursion  Steamer  at  the  Front  of  the  Glacior.     No.  4  (Bottorr),  On  the 
Great  Frozen  Sea;  a  Near  View  of  the  Sur'ace  o'  the  Glacie  . 


(3T) 


t! 


88 


riIRO  UGH  I!  ONDERLAND. 


ii 


frozen  river  of  ice,  ever  slowly  moving  to  the  sea,  and  piling  the  enormous 
masses  higher  between  the  mountain  banks,  until  their  summit  towers  hundreds 
of  feet  in  the  air.  Where  the  point  of  the  glacier  pushes  out  into  and  overhangs 
the  water,  vast  fragments  breaking  apart  every  few  moments  of  their  own 
weight,  and  falling  with  a  thundering  crash  into  the  sea,  to  float  away  as  enor- 
mous icebergs,  it  affords  a  spectacle  which  can  only  be  understood  and  appre- 
ciated by  one  who  beholds  it  with  his  own  eyes.  From  the  summit  of  Muir 
Glacier  no  less  than  twenty-nine  others  are  to  be  seen  in  various  directions,  all 
grinding  and  crowding  their  huge  masses  toward  the  sea,  a  sight  which  must 
certainly  be  one  which  few  other  scenes  can  equal." 

Says  a  writer,  Mr.  Edward  Roberts,  in  the  Overland  Monthly  ;  "  I  do  not 
know  how  wide,  nor  how  long,  nor  how  deep  Glacier  Bay  is.  One  does  not 
think  of  figures  and  facts  when  sailing  over  its  waters  and  enjoying  the  novel 
features.  Flood  Switzerland,  and  sail  up  some  of  its  canons  toward  Mont 
Blanc,  and  you  will  have  there  another  Glacier  Bay.  But  until  the  sea-waves 
wash  the  feet  of  that  Swiss  peak,  and  until  one  can  sail  past  the  glaciers  of  that 
country,  there  will  never  be  found  a  companion  bay  to  this  of  Alaska.  Norway, 
with  all  its  ruggedness,  has  nothing  to  equal  it ;  and  there  is  not  a  mountain  in 
all  the  ranges  of  the  Rockies  which  has  the  majestic  gracefulness  of  Fairweather 
Peak,  which  looks  down  upon  the  bay. 

"  Imagine  the  view  we  had  as  we  turned  out  of  Lynn  Canal  and  moved  into 
the  ice-strewn  waters  of  the  strange  place.  Above  hung  the  sun,  warm  and 
clear,  and  ligh'.ing  up  the  wide  waste  of  waters  till  they  glistened  like  flashing 
brilliants.  Away  to  the  left  and  right  ran  sombre  forests,  and  long  stretches  of 
yellow-colored  stone,  and  rocky  cliffs  that  now  ran  out  into  the  bay,  and,  again, 
rose  high  and  straight  from  out  it.  No  villages  were  in  sight;  no  canoes 
dotted  the  waters;  but  all  was  desolate,  neglected,  still;  and  cakes  of  ice,  white 
in  the  distance  and  highly  colored  nearer  to,  floated  about  our  ship.  And 
there,  in  the  northwest,  rising  so  high  above  the  intervening  hills  that  all  its 
pinnacles,  all  its  gorges,  and  its  deep  ravines  of  moving  ice  were  visible,  was 
Fairweather,  loftiest,  whitest,  most  delicately  moulded  peak  of  all  the  snowy 
crests  in  this  north  land.  From  a  central  spur,  topping  all  its  fellows,  lesser 
heights  helped  form  a  range  which  stretched  for  miles  across  the  country,  and 
on  whose  massive  shoulders  lay  a  mantle  of  such  pure  whiteness  that  the  sky 
above  was  bluer  still  by  contrast,  and  the  forests  grew  doubly  dark  and  drear. 
All  through  the  afternoon  we  sailed  toward  the  glorious  beacon,  while  the  air 
grew  colder  every  hour,  and  the  ice  cakes,  hundreds  of  tons  in  weight,  grew 
more  numerous  as  the  daylight  began  to  wane.  The  glaciers  of  (Glacier  Bay 
are  the  largest  in  .\laska.  Formed  among  the  highest  crags  of  the  Fairweather 
range,  they  gradually  deepen  and  widen  as  they  near  the  sea,  and  end,  at  last, 
in  massive  cliffs  of  solid  ice,  often  measuring  three  hundred  feet  high,  and 
having  a  width  of  several  miles.  The  surface  of  the  glaciers  is  rough  and 
billowy,  resembling  the  waves  of  a  troubled  sea  frozen  into  solid  blocks  of  ice 
at  the  moment  of  their  wildest  gambols.     Constantly  pressed  forward  by  the 


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THRO  UGH  \V0XDB:RLAND. 


heavy  blocks  that  gradually  slide  down  the  inoiiiitaiii  ravines,  the  great  frozen 
river  keeps  pressing  seaward,  until  the  action  of  the  waves  crumbles  away 
gigantic  cakes,  that  fall  into  the  waters  with  a  noise  like  the  booming  of  cannon, 
and  with  a  force  that  sends  columns  of  water  high  into  the  air.  The  scene  was 
one  of  arctic  splendor, — white,  ghostly  and  cheerless  ;  while  the  light  was  that  so 
often  described  by  visitors  to  the  polar  sea. — uncertain,  bluish,  and  strongly  resem- 
bling a  November  twilight  in  New  England,  when  the  sky  is  overcast,  the  trees 
are  bare,  and  the  clouds  are  full  of  snow,  (laining  at  last  a  point  barely  three 
hundred  yards  from  the  glacier,  the  ship  was  stopped  short.  Hefore  us  rose 
the  towers  and  solid  walls,  forming  an  embankment  higher  than  our  mast-head, 
and  towering  upward  in  dense  masses  against  the  leaden  sky.  Taken  to 
Switzerland,  the  glacier  of  Alaska  would  cover  that  country  three  times  over ; 
for  the  frozen  rivers  of  our  largest  purchase  are  not  only  fifty  miles  in  length 
and  three  in  width,  but  often  twice  that  distance  long  and  ten  times  that 
distance  wide." 

Lieutenant  Wood,  whom  we  have  quoted  before,  in  speaking  of  the  T'linkit 
Indians  in  the  ice,  says:  "  I  noticed  that,  when  journeying  through  the  floating 
ice  in  good  weather,  our  Indians  would  carefully  avoid  striking  pieces  of  ice, 
lest  they  should  offend  the  Ice  Spirit.  But,  when  the  Ice  Spirit  beset  us  with 
peril,  they  did  not  hesitate  to  retaliate  by  banging  his  subjects.  After  picking 
our  way  through  the  ice  for  three  days,  we  came  upon  a  small,  temporary  camp 
of  Hoonahs,  who  were  s°al  hunting.  We  found  little  camps  of  a  family  or  two 
scattered  along  both  shores.  One  of  the  largest  glaciers  from  Fairweather 
comes  into  the  bay,  and  thus  keeps  its  waters  filled  with  the  largest  icebergs, 
even  in  the  summer  season,  for  which  reason  the  bay  is  a  favorite  place  for  seal 
hunting.  The  seal  is  the  native's  meat,  drink  (the  oil  is  like  melted  butter) 
and  clothing.  I  went  seal  hunting  to  learn  the  art,  which  requires  care  and 
patience.  The  hunter,  whether  on  an  ice  floe  or  in  a  canoe,  never  moves  when 
the  seal  is  aroused.  When  the  animal  is  asleep,  or  has  dived,  the  hunter  darts 
forward.  The  spear  has  a  barbed,  detachable  head,  fastened  to  the  shaft  by  a 
plaited  line  made  from  sinew.  The  line  has  attached  to  it  a  marking  buoy, 
which  is  merely  an  inflated  seal's  bladder.  The  young  seals  are  the  victims  of 
the  T'linkit  boys,  who  kill  them  with  bow  and  arrow.  These  seal  hunters  used 
a  little  moss  and  seal  oil  and  some  driftwood  for  fuel.  *  *  *  After 
about  forty  miles'  travel,  we  came  to  a  small  village  of  As6nques.  They 
received  us  with  great  hospitality,  and,  as  our  canoe  had  been  too  small  to  carry 
any  shelter,  the  head  man  gave  me  a  bed  in  his  own  cabin.  He  had  a  great 
many  wives,  who  busied  themselves  making  me  comfortable.  The  buckskin 
re-enforcement  of  my  riding  trousers  excited  childish  wonder.  I  drew  pictures 
of  horses  and  men  separate,  and  then  of  men  mounted  on  horses.  Their 
astonishment  over  the  wonderful  animal  was  greater  than  their  delight  at 
comprehending  the  utility  of  the  trousers.  The  .\laskan  women  are  childish 
and  pleasant,  yet  quick-witted,  and  capable  of  heartless  vindictiveness.  Their 
authority  in  all  matters  is  unquestioned.     No  bargain  is  made,  no  expedition 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  873-4503 


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90 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


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set  on  foot,  without  first  consulting  the  women.  Their  veto  is  never  disre- 
garded. I  bought  a  silver-fox  skin  from  Tsatate;  but  his  wife  made  him  return 
the  articles  of  trade  and  recover  the  skin.  In  the  same  way  I  was  perpetually 
being  annoyed  by  having  to  undo  bargains  because  his  wife  said  ^  ckkh;'  that 
is,  '  no.'  I  hired  a  fellow  to  take  me  about  thirty  miles  in  his  canoe,  when  my 
own  crew  was  tired.  He  agreed.  I  paid  him  the  tobacco,  and  we  were  about 
to  start,  when  his  wife  came  to  the  beach  and  stopped  him.  He  quietly 
unloaded  the  canoe  and  handed  me  back  the  tobacco.  The  whole  people  are 
curious  in  the  matter  of  trade.  I  was  never  sure  that  I  had  done  with  a 
bargain;  for  they  claimed  and  exercised  the  right  to  undo  a  contract  at  any 
time,  provided  they  could  return  the  consideration  received.  This  is  their 
code  among  themselves.  For  example:  I  met,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Chilkat,  a 
native  trader  who  had  been  to  Fort  Simpsrn,  about  six  hundred  miles  away, 
and,  failing  to  get  as  much  as  he  gave  in  the  interior  of  Alaska  for  the  skins, 
was  now  returning  to  the  interior  to  find  the  first  vender,  and  revoke  the  whole 
transaction. 

"  From  the  As<5nque  village  I  went,  with  a  party  of  mountain  goat  hunters, 
up  into  the  Mount  St.  Elias  Alps  back  of  Mount  Fairweather, — that  is,  to  the 
northeast  of  that  mountain.  For  this  trip  our  party  made  elaborate  prepara- 
tions. We  donned  belted  shirts  made  of  squirrel  skins,  fur  head-dresses 
(generally  conical),  sealskin  bootees,  fitting  very  closely,  and  laced  half  way  to 
the  knee.  We  carried  spears  for  alpenstocks,  bows  and  arrows,  raw-hide 
ropes,  and  one  or  two  old  Hudson  Bay  rifles.  Ptarmigan  were  seen  on  the 
lower  levels  where  the  ground  was  bare.  The  goats  kept  well  up  toward  the 
summit,  amid  the  snow  fields,  and  fed  on  the  grass  which  sprouted  along  the 
edges  of  melting  drifts.  The  animal  is  like  a  large,  white  goat,  with  long, 
coarse  hair  and  a  heavy  coat  of  silky  underfleece.  We  found  a  bear  that,  so 
far  AS  I  know,  is  peculiar  to  this  country.  It  is  of  a  beautiful  bluish  under-color, 
with  the  tips  of  the  long  hairs  silvery  white.  The  traders  call  it  *  St.  Elias 
silver  bear.'  The  skins  are  not  uncommon."  This  little  mountain  trip  of 
lieutenant  Wood's  is  especially  spread  before  tha  attention  of  those  who  find  in 
this  form  of  exercise  their  b»st  recreation  from  their  regular  duties. 

But,  however  much  the  tourists  may  want  to  dwell  amidst  the  curious  and 
marvefous  scenes  of  Glacier  Bay  (and  so  great  has  been  this  demand  that  it  is 
contemplated  building  a  summer  resort  near  by,  that  passengers  may  remain 
over  one  steamer),  yet  a  time  must  come  when  we  will  have  to  bid  good-bye  to 
this  polar  part  of  our  wonderland,  and  pass  on  to  the  next  grand  panorama  in 
view.  Southeastward  out  of  Glacier  Bay  into  Icy  Straits,  and  we  turn  south- 
westward  into  Cross  Sound,  headed  for  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  for  the  first  time 
enter  its  limitless  waters.  Cross  Sound  was  named  by  Vancouver,  in  1778,  in 
honor  of  the  day  on  which  it  was  discovered,  and  is  about  fifty-fire  miles  long. 
It  corresponds  on  the  north  to  the  Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca  on  the  south,  these 
two  waterways  being  the  limiting  channels  north  and  south  of  the  inland 
passage  as  it  connects  with  the  Pacific  Ocean.     As  the  Puget  Sound  projects 


4«- 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


J»l 


much  farther  to  the  south  from  Fuca  Strait  into  the  mainland,  hemmed  in  by 
snowj'  peaks,  so  Lynn  Canal,  "  the  Puget  Sound  of  the  North,"  continues  the 
Sound  of  the  Holy  Cross  far  to  the  northward,  embayed  by  glaciers,  icebergs, 
and  fields  of  snow. 

Recently,  a  trip  out  of  Cross  Sound,  and  northwestward  about  two  hundred 
miles  along  the  Pacific  coast,  has  been  occasionally  added  to  the  scenes  of  the 
inland  passage,  the  new  views  presented  being  the  Mount  St.  Elias  Alps,  directly 
facing  the  Pacific,  for  the  distance  noted,  and  containing  within  those  limits  the 
greatest  number  of  high  and  imposing  peaks  to  be  found  in  any  range  in  the 
world.  The  inland  passage  (by  the  use  of  Peril  Straits  to  Sitka)  became  so  per- 
fect a  river-like  journey,  absolutely  free  from  sea-sickness,  that  no  one  felt  like 
breaking  this  delightful  trip  by  a  sea  journey,  in  any  of  its  parts,  however 
tempting  the  display  might  be.  A  trip  or  two,  however,  soon  convinced  the 
company  that  the  mildness  of  the  sea  during  the  excursion  season  would  wai- 
rant  them  in  taking  it  as  a  part  of  the  journey  ;  and  since,  as  I  have  said,  it  is 
taken  occasionally,  I  think  a  short  description  of  it  would  be  appropriate  here. 
Should  the  hotel  in  Glacier  Bay,  or  near  vicinity,  be  completed  soon,  it  would 
be  a  good  stopping-point  for  those  who  are  sure  to  feel  sea-sick  with  the  least 
motion  of  the  waves  ;  while,  to  all  others,  the  chances  for  good  weather  on  ,,he 
Fairweather  Grounds,  as  they  are  not  inappropriately  termed,  are  very  good, 
and,  conjoined  with  the  grand  mountain  scenery,  should  not  be  missed. 
Rounding  Cape  Spencer  (/*««/«  de  Villaluenga  of  old  Spanish  charts),  the 
northern  point  of  the  Pacific  entrance  to  Cross  Sound,  the  journey  out  to  sea  is 
commenced  ;  a  view  about  ten  to  fifteen  miles  off  shore  being  the  best,  or  on 
what  is  known  to  the  fishermen  who  here  used  to  pursue  the  right  whale,  "  the 
Fairweather  Grounds,"  being  so  named,  it  is  said,  from  Fairweather  peak  being 
in  sight  of  most  of  it ;  and  this,  again,  was  named  by  the  indomitable  Cook,  in 
1778,  as  a  monument  to  the  fair  weather  he  had  cruising  in  sight  of  the  grand 
old  chain,  a  name  which  most  tourists  may  congratulate  themselves  is  well 
bestowed. 

Almost  as  soon  as  Cape  Spencer  is  doubled,  the  southern  spurs  of  the  Mount 
St.  Elias  Alps  burst  into  view,  Crillon  and  Fairweather  being  prominent,  and 
the  latter  easily  recognized  from  our  acquaintance  with  it  from  the  waters  of 
Glacier  Bay.  A  trip  of  an  hour  or  two  takes  us  along  a  comparatively  uninter- 
esting coast,  as  viewed  from  "  square  off  our  starboard  beam  ;  "  but  all  this  time 
the  mind  is  fixed  by  the  grand  Alpine  views  we  have  ahead  of  us,  that  are  slowly 
developing  in  plainer  outline  here  and  there  as  we  speed  toward  them.  Soon  we 
are  abreast  of  Icy  Point :  while,  just  beyond  it,  comes  down  a  glacier  to  the  ocean 
that  gives  about  three  miles  of  solid  sea-wall  of  ice,  while  its  source  is  lost  in  the 
heights  covering  the  bases  of  the  snowy  peaks  just  behind.  The  ..igh  peak  to  the 
right,  as  we  steam  by  the  glacier  front,  is  Mount  La  Perouse,  named  for  one  of  the 
most  daring  of  France's  long  list  of  explorers,  and  who  lo.m  his  life  in  the  interest 
of  geographical  science.  His  eyes  rested  on  this  range  of  Alpine  peaks  in  1786; 
but  a  little  over  a  century  ago.     Its  highest  point  reaches  well  above  10,000  feet. 


l! 


9S 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


and  its  sides  are  furrowed  with  glaciers,  one  of  which  is  the  ice-wall  before 
our  eyes,  and  which  is  generally  known  as  the  La  Perouse  Glacier.  The 
highest  peak  of  all,  :ind  on  the  left  of  this  noble  range,  is  Mount  Crillon, 
named  by  La  Perouse,  in  1786,  after  the  French  Minister  of  the  Marine;  while 
between  Criilon  and  La  Perouse  is  Mount  D'Agelet,  so  called  from  the 
astronomer  of  that  celebrated  expedition.  Criilon  cleaves  the  air  for  16,000 
feet  above  the  sea  on  which  we  rest,  and  can  be  seen  for  over  a  hundred 
miles  to  sea.  It,  too,  is  surrounded  with  glaciers,  in  all  directions  from 
its  crown.  Criilon  and  La  Perouse  are  about  seven  miles  apart,  nearly  north 
and  south  of  each  other.  About  fifteen  miles  northwest  from  Criilon  is  Lituya 
Peak,  1 0,000  feet  high  ;  and  the  little  bay  opening  that  we  pass,  between  the  two,  is 
the  entrance  to  Lituya  Bay,  a  sheet  of  water  which  La  Perouse  has  pronounced 
as  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  in  the  world  for  grand  scenery,  with  its  glaciers 
and  Alpine  shores.  Our  steamer  will  not  enter,  however;  for  the  passage  is  dan- 
gerous to  even  small  boats, — one  island  bearing  a  monument  to  the  officers  and 
men  of  La  Perouse's  expedition,  lost  in  the  tidal  wave  which  sweeps  through 
the  contracted  passage  like  a  breaker  over  a  treacherous  bar.  Some  ten  or 
twelve  miles  northwest  from  Lituya  Peak  is  Mount  Fairweather,  which 
bears  abreast  us  after  a  little  over  an  hour's  run  from  Lituya  Bay.  It  was 
named  by  Cook  in  1778,  and  is  generally  considered  to  be  a  few  hundred  feet 
shorter  than  Mount  Criilon.  It  is  in  every  way,  by  its  peculiar  isolation  from 
near  ridges  almost  as  high  as  itself,  a  much  grander  peak  than  Criilon,  whose 
surroundings  are  not  so  good  for  a  fine  Alpine  display.  Fairweather,  too, 
has  its  frozen  rivers  flowing  down  its  sides;  but  none  of  them  reach  the  sea,  for 
a  low,  wooded  country,  some  three  or  four  miles  in  width,  lies  like  a  glacis 
at  the  seaward  side  of  the  St.  Elias  Alps,  for  a  short  distance  along  this 
part  of  the  coast.  The  sombre,  deep  green  forests  add  an  impressive  feature 
to  the  scene,  however,  lying  between  the  dancing  waves  brlow  and  the  white 
and  blue  glacier  ice  above.  Rounding  Cape  Fairweather,  the  coast  trends 
northward;  and,  as  our  bowsprit  is  pointed  in  the  same  direction,  directly 
before  us  are  seen  immense  glaciers  reaching  to  the  sea.  From  Cape  Fair- 
weather  (abreast  of  Mount  Fairweather)  to  Yakutat  Bay  (abreast  of  Mount 
Vancouver),  no  conspicuous  peak  rears  its  head  above  the  grand  mountain 
chain  which  for  nearly  a  hundred  miles  lies  between  these  two  Alpine  bas- 
tions; but  nevertheless  every  hour  reveals  a  new  mountain  of  5,000  to  8,000  feet 
in  height,  which,  if  placed  anywhere  else,  would  be  held  up  with  national  or 
State  pride  as  a  grand  acquisition.  Here  they  are  only  dwarfed  by  grander 
peaks.  The  glacier  which  we  are  approaching  from  Cape  Fairweather  was 
named,  by  La  Perouse,  La  Grande  Plateau.  It  is  a  very  low  lying  glacier,  its 
grade  as  it  fades  away  inland  being  very  slight,  more  like  a  frozen  river  than  the 
precipitous  masses  of  ice  which  we  have  been  used  to  seeing.  Little  is  known  of 
it,  beyond  the  seaward  aspect;  but  it  is  probably  one  of  the  largest  glaciers  m 
Alaska,  and  one  of  the  largest  in  the  world,  south  of  the  polar  regions  themselves. 
Wherever  these  ,  glaciers  reach  the  sea,  or  connect  with  it   by   draining 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


98 


rivers, — and  all  large  glaciers,  at  least,  do  this, — there  is  seen  a  milky  sedi- 
ment floating  in  the  water,  which  these  "mills  of  the  gods"  grind  from  the 
mountain  flanks  in  their  slow  but  rasping  course  down  their  sides.  Wher- 
ever they  find  calcareous  strata  to  abrade,  the  water  is  almost  milklike  in 
hue  for  miles  around.  The  glacier  of  the  Grand  Plateau  is  the  last  one  facing 
the  Pacific  itself,  as  we  move  northward;  but,  where  little  bays  cut  back  through 
the  flat  lands  at  the  foot  of  the  range,  they  may  reach  the  glaciers  which  exist 
everywhere  on  the  mountain  sides. 

Off  the  Bay  of  Yakutat, — a  name  given  it  by  the  resident  T'linkit  tribes, — 
we  have  our  best  view  of  imperial  St.  Elias,  the  crowning  peak  of  this 
noble  range,  and  the  highest  mountain  in  all  North  America, — nearly  20,000  feet 
above  the  sea-level,  and  all  of  this  va.st  height  seemingly  springing  from  the 
very  sea  itself.  No  good  picture  has  ever  been  given  of  it,  and  no  words  have 
ever  fully  described  it.  All  of  the  superlatives  of  our  language  have  clothed  so 
many  lesser  peaks  that  they  fall  flat  and  mentally  tasteless  m  the  presence  of 
this  Alpine  Titan,  rearing  his  crest  among  the  clouds  as  if  defying  description. 
This  want  of  words  has  been  felt  by  so  many  who  have  visited  the  grand  scen- 
ery of  Alaska,  who  saw  that,  in  illustrating  a  fjord  here  or  a  glacier  there,  they 
have  but  duplicated  the  word-painting  of  some  other  writer  describing  a  puny 
antagonist,  compared  with  their  subject,  that  I  will  give  it  in  the  words  of  one 
who  expresses  the  idea  more  closely  than  I.  It  is  from  the  pen  of  a  correspond- 
ent in  the  Kansas  City  Journal,  under  date  of  September  14,  1885. 

"  The  difficult  thing  for  the  tourist  to  do  in  regard  to  Alaska  is  to  describe 
what  is  seen  for  the  general  reader.  Everything  is  on  such  an  immense  and 
massive  scale  that  words  are  diminutives  for  expression,  rather  than — as  travelers 
have  been  credited  with  using  them — for  exaggerated  descriptions.  For 
example,  people  cross  the  continent  to  sail  for  an  hour  or  two  among  the 
Thousand  Islands  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  word-painting  has  been  exhausted 
in  exaltation  of  their  beauties.  But  here  is  a  thousand  miles  of  islands,  ranging 
in  size  from  an  acre  to  the  proportions  of  a  St^*3,  covered  with  evergreen  forests 
of  tropical  luxuriance,  yet  so  arctic  in  their  cnaracter  as  to  be  new  to  the  eye, 
and  in  regard  to  which  botanical  nomenclature  but  confuses  and  dissatisfies. 
And  in  all  this  vast  extent  of  mountain  scenery,  with  summits  ranging  from  one 
thousand  to  fifteen  thousand  feet  in  height,  there  is  not  enough  level  land 
visible  to  aggregate  one  prairie  county  in  Western  Missouri  or  Kan.sas.  Day 
after  day  there  is  a  continuous  and  unbroken  chain  of  mountain  scenery.  I 
can  not  better  impress  the  character  of  the  landscape,  as  seen  from  a  vessel's 
deck,  than  to  ask  the  reader  to  imagine  the  parks,  valleys,  canons,  gorges  and 
depressions  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  be  filled  with  water  to  the  base  of  the 
snowy  range,  and  then  take  a  sail  through  them  from  Santa  F4  to  the  northern 
line  of  Montana.  Just  about  what  could  be  seen  on  such  an  imaginary  voyage 
is  actually  passed  through  in  the  sail  now  completed  by  our  party  of  enthusi- 
astic tourists  for  the  past  ten  days.  You  may  divide  the  scenery  into  parts  by 
the  days,  and  just  as  it  was  successively  passed  through,  and  any  one  of  the 


I 


94 


THROUGH  WONDERLAND. 


subdivisions  will  furnish  more  grand  combination  of  mountain  and  sea  than  can 
be  seen  anywhere  on  the  globe.  It  is  this  vast  profusion  of  scenery,  this  daily 
and  hourly  unrolling  of  the  panorama,  that  overwhelms  and  confuses  the 
observer.  It  is  too  great  to  be  separated  into  details,  and  everything  is  platted 
on  such  a  gigantic  scale  that  all  former  experiences  are  dwarfed,  and  the  imag- 
ination rejects  the  adjectives  that  have  heretofore  served  for  other  scenes  :  to 
employ  them  here  is  only  to  mislead." 

"  As  one  gentleman,  a  veteran  traveler,  remarked  to  me,  as  we  stood  looking 
north  at  the  entrance  to  Glacier  Bay,  with  the  St.  Elias  Alps  in  full  view, 
and  Mounts  Crillon  and  Fairweather  overtopping  the  snow-covered  peaks  of 
that  remarkable  range  : 

"  '  You  can  take  just  what  we  see  here,  and  put  it  down  on  Switzerland,  and 
it  will  hide  all  there  is  of  mountain  scenery  in  Europe.'  And  then  he  added  : 
•  I  have  been  all  over  the  world  ;  but  you  are  now  looking  at  a  scene  that  has 
not  its  parallel  elsewhere  on  the  globe.' 

"  I  cite  this  incident,  as  it  is  more  descriptive,  and  gives  a  better  idea  of  con- 
trast than  anything  of  my  own  could  do,  giving,  as  it  does,  to  the  reader,  a 
conception  of  the  vastness  and  immensity  of  the  topographical  aspect  of  the 
shores  of  the  inland  seas  through  whose  labyrinthine  passages  we  have  for  ten 
days  past,  and  for  ten  days  more  to  come  will  be  lost  to  the  outside  world, 
where  nature  reigns  undisturbed  and  unfretted  by  the  hand  of  civilization." 

Here,  under  the  solemn  influence  of  Mount  St.  Elias,  and  in  the  northern- 
most waters  of  the  greatest  ocean  of  our  planet,  we  turn  southward  to  repeat 
in  inverse  order  the  things  we  have  seen  ;  or  perchance,  as  often  happens,  down 
a  number  of  new  channels,  with  their  varied  scenery,  before  home  is  reached 
again. 

I  have  given  a  certain  order  in  which  the  few  ports  of  Alaska  are  visited  ; 
but  the  reader  must  not  for  a  moment  think  that  this  is  always  rigidly  followed. 
Sometimes  some  of  them  are  left  for  the  return  journey,  and  much  depends  on 
the  amount  of  freight,  and  the  number  and  character  of  passengers.  In  the 
wirtter  the  trips  are  made  wholly  with  reference  to  mails,  freight,  and  the  few 
passengers  ;  but  in  the  spring,  summer,  and  fall  these  are  wholly  subordinate, 
and  the  trips  are  converted  into  excursions  in  the  broadest  sense  of  the  word. 
While  thousands  of  little  channels  remain  almost  wholly  unexplored,  which 
probably  would  make  the  fortune  of  excursion  companies  if  transported  else- 
where, yet  it  is  evident  that  the  greater  attractions  of  the  great  inland  passage 
have  been  discovered,  and  are  now  shown  to  the  tourists  to  the  Wonderland  of 
the  World. 

Fred'k  Schwatka. 


n 
I 


Northern    Pacific    Railroad 


ARRANOEMENT8  POR  THE 


TOTJRISX   SRASON   OF  188Y. 


lOTEL  ICGOHIODiTIONS  IN  THE  YELLOWSTONE  NATIONIL  PARI. 

HE  YellowHtone  Park  AsHOciaUon,  bavinif  added  to  the  number  of  their  hoteU  and  erected  numeroiu 
cottages,  are  now  prepared  to  give  better  attention  to  all  tourists  visltiug  the  Parle  than  ever  before. 
Hotelcoupons  in  the  book  tickets  will  be  accepted  for  raeaU  or  lodKlnKH.  one  or  both,  by  any  of  the 
hotels  in  the  Park  with  which  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  may  make  arranKements,  without 
reference  to  the  items  or  l(x:ation  specified  on  the  face  of  the  ticket,  it  heinir  undersUxxl  that  the 
value  of  the  meal  and  lodging  coupons  ix  $1.00  each.  Purchasers  of  book  tickets  are  at  lil>erty  to 
use  any  or  all  of  the  hotel  coudoiih  at  sucn  point,  or  points,  as  they  may  select,  provided  the  tickets  are 
presented  at  hotels  with  which  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  may  o|)erate;  it  Ixting,  of  courne,  understood 
that  the  holders  of  such  tickets  will,  after  the  hohd  coupons  are  exhausted,  pay  the  regular  hotel  rate, 
which,  to  such  holders,  will  not  exceed  $4.00  per  diem.  Parties  holding  either  the  book  or  lail-stage  ticket 
are  not  obliged  to  make  a  continuous  trip  through  the  Park,  but  can  make  such  stops  at  the  different  points 
of  interest  as  they  see  fit,  within  the  forty  days'  limit,  west  of  St.  Paid. 

TRANSPORTATION   IN  THE   PARK. 

The  Wakefield  Stage  Co.  operate  two  daily  unrb  of  stages  both  ways  (letween  Cinnabar,  the  terminus 
of  the  Northern  Pacific  Park  Branch,  and  Mammoth  Hot  Springs,  Norris  Ueyser  Basin,  Lower,  or  Firn  Hole 
Basin,  Upper  Geyser  Basin,  Grand  Gallon  and  Falls  of  the  Yeflowstone,  June  15th  to  October  Ist,  the  last 
regular  stage  making  the  round  trip  leaving  Mammoth  Hot  Springs  on  date  last  mentioned. 

Tourists  can  make  s])ecial  arrangements  with  the  Wakefield  Stage  Co.  for  transportation  through  the 
Park  between  October  dd  and  October  15th. 


- 


RATES-BOOK  TICKETS. 

The  $130  book  ticket,  on  sale  at  San  Francisco,  Gal.,  by  the  Pacific  Coast  Steamship  Co.;  at  Tacoma, 
W.T.,  bytheN.P.  R.  R.  Co.;  at  Portland,  Ore.,  by  the  Oregon  Railway  &  Navigation  Co. ;  and  at  St.  Paul, 
Minneapolis  and  Duluth  by  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  June  13th  to  Septeml)er  ;n'th,  and  by  the  principal 
rail  lines  lea,ling  from  New  York,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  Washington,  BaiUmore  and  Chicago,  from  June 
10th  to  September  SBth,  covers  the  expenses  of  the  round  trip  from  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis,  Duluth,  Tacoma, 
W.  T.,  or  Portland,  Ore.,  to  and  through  the  Park,  and  embraces  railroad  fare,  Pullman  Sleeping  Car  fares, 
meals  on  the  Northc^m  Pacific  Dining  Cars,  hotel  accommodations  for  Ave  days,  and  stage  transportation 
tluxmgh  the  Park. 

The  BIO,  S%  and  $40  round-trip  excursion  tickets,  including  all  expenses  from  Livingston,  Mont. ,  respect- 
ively to  Mammoth  Hot  Springs  and  return;  to  Upper  Geyser  Ba.«in  and  return;  to  Upper  Geyser  Basin  and 
Grand  Caflon  of  the  Yellowstone  and  return,  will  lie  on  sale  ax,  Livingston  (junction  of  the  Yellowstone  Park 
branch  with  the  main  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad)  June  ISth  to  September  aoth,  inclusive. 

The  $10  ticket  includes  railroad  fare  Livingston  to  Cinnabar  and  return;  stage  fare  Cinnabar  to 
Mammoth  Hot  Springs  and  return,  and  supper,  lodging  and  breakfast.  The  ii30  ticket,  railroad  and  stage 
fares  Livingston  to  Lower  and  Upper  Geyser  Basins  and  return,  and  three  days'  board.  The  $40  ticket, 
railroad  and  stage  fares  Livingston  to  Lower  and  Upper  Geyser  Basins,  Grand  Cafion  and  return,  and  five 
days'  board. 

RAIL-STAGE  TICKETS. 

Rail-stage  tickets  on  sale  (as  per  dates  iriven  for  $120  tickets)  at  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  eastern  cities,  and 
St.  P  \ul.  Minneapolis  and  Duluth,  cover  rail  and  stage  transportation  from  either  of  the  three  points  last 
named  to  Ixiwer  and  Upper  Geyser  Basins  and  return. 


Bata  for  Bound  Trip, 


$76.00. 


LIMIT  AND  CONDITIONS  ON  TICKETS. 


The  $liiO  ticket  will  be  g^xMl  going  thirty  days  from  date  of  sale,  and  returning  ten  days  (limit  within 
which  entire  ticket  must  be  used,  forty  days),  but  will  not  be  good  for  return  passage  unless  the  holder  is 
identified  as  the  original  purchaser  at  both  Upper  Geyser  Basin  and  Mammoth  Hot  Springs.  After  ticket  is 
duly  stamped  and  signed  at  the  latter  point,  ft  must  be  presented  for  return  passage  on  main  line  train  east 
of  Livingi'ton,  if  n>turning  to  an  eastern  terminal,  or  west  of  Livir<g8ton,  if  sold  at  Purtland  or  Tacoma,  withm 
one  dayirom  such  date. 

Tlie  limit  of  the  rail-stage  tickets  west  of  St.  Paul  will  also  be  forty  days,  and  they  must  be  presented  on 
train  at  Cinnabar  for  the  return  trip  on  or  liefnre  Octolx^r  5th,  having  previously  lieen  stamped,  same  as  the 
$190  tickets,  at  both  Upper  Geyser  Basin  and  Mammoth  Hot  .Springs.  The  same  rule  also  applies  as  to  pre' 
sentation  of  rail-stage  ticket  east  of  Livingston  on  return  trip,  within  one  day  of  date  stamped  at 
Mammoth  Hot  Springs,  as  in  case  of  $120  book  ticket. 

Stop-overs  within  the  time  limit  of  the  $1!iO  ticket,  also  the  rail-stage  ticket,  will  be  granted  between 
eastern  terminals  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  and  Billings,  Mont.,  and  between  Portland,  Ore.,  and 
Helena,  Mont.,  on  the  $130  tickets  sold  at  Portland  or  Tacoma. 

The  $10,  $90  and  $40  tickets  sold  at  Livingston  will  Lie  good  if  used  between  June  15th  and  September 
aoth,  1887,  and  do  not  require  stamping  at  any  point  in  the  Park. 

(M) 


p 


i 


I 


•  i'; 


Time  Required  to  make  the  Round  Trip  to  Yellowstone  National  Park, 
Including  Five  Days  South  of  Livingston. 


XiTWrpool,  ItovUnd,      -  •  -         88  Day*. 

Jhrom  Haw  Tork  and  Atlantic  OoMt  01  ties,    14 
Ohlcaso  and  8t  Louis,  11      " 


8t.  Paul,  Kinnaapolla  or  Duluth, 
■an  Franoiaoo,    -  .  . 

Portland.  Orsffon  or  Tacoma,  W.  T., 


9  Dan. 

14      " 
9      •' 


PACCFIC  COAST  EXCURSIONS. 


A  |0O  round-trip  exoursiun  tlclcet  Rt.  Paul,  Minneapolis  or  Duluth  to  Portland,  and  SOO  ticlcet  nf  wime 
olaaa  Iwtwtien  the  tiame  eastern  termini  and  Tacoma,  will  l>e  on  sale  at  the  three  points  flr.'<t  named,  and  l>y 
all  eastern  lines,  April  Ist  to  October  .'ilst,  limit  six  months  from  date  of  sale;  k"o<1  goin^  trip  thirty  days, 
and  for  return  any  time  after  flituen  days  from  date  of  sale,  within  limit  of  ticlcet. 

■t.  Paul  to  Victoria  and  return,  ....  $90.00. 

For  rates  Portland  to  Puget  Sound  points  and  Alaska,  see  the  followInK  table: 


Portland  to  Tacoma  and  return, 
Portland  to  Seattle  and  return,   - 
Portland  to  Victoria  and  return, 
Portland  to  Sitka,  Alaska, 


8  9.00 
10.00 
15.00 

eo.oo 


Portland  to  Sitka,  Alaska,  and  return, 

Tacoma  to  Sitka,  Alaska, 

Tacoma  to  Sitka,  Alaska,  and  return. 


$110.00 

03.86 

100.00 


The  Horthem  Pacific  Aallroad  is  the  only  DIMINO  QA&  IiIKB  between  the  Vast  and  Pacific  Coast. 

Xacli  Overland  Train  between  St.   Paul  and  Portland  carries  ihrouff h  Dlnlns  Oar. 

Blevaat  equipment  and  first-class  service.     Heals,  only  75  cents. 

CALIFORNIA  EXCURSIONISTS 

Can  return  via  Portland,  Ore.,  and  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  to  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  or  Duluth,  Minn. 

1st.  At  all  the  eastern  termini  of  the  several  southern  trans-continental  lines,  excursion  tickets  covering 
the  complete  route,  returning  to  St.  Paul  or  Minnecpolis,  as  alxive  indicated,  including  steamship  coupon 
providing  f oi  first-class  cabin  passage  and  meals  from  8an  Francisco  to  Portland,  will  be  sold  (or  fumisbed 
on  exchange  orders)  at  a  rate  %15  higher  than  the  current  excursion  rate  to  San  Francisco  or  Los  Anguies 
and  return  via  the  direct  lines. 

9d.  Return  portions  of  California  Excursion  tickets,  covering  return  via  the  original  route  will,  however, 
be  exchanged  at  the  option  of  the  holder,  for  return  ticket  from  Han  Froncisco  or  Los  Angeles  to  St.  Paul 
or  Minneapolis  via  Portland,  on  the  payment  of  ^10  for  such  exchange  and  $15  for  the  steamship  passage, 
San  Francisco  to  Portland,  on  application  to  D.  li.  Jatk.K...,  Gen'l  Vam.  Agent  Paciflo  Coast  Steamship  Co., 
214  Montgomery  St.,  or  T.  U.  Goodman,  Oen'l  Pass.  Agent  Southern  and  Central  Pacific  Railways,  San 
Francisco. 

California  excursionists  should  be  advised,  however,  that  the  expeiue  of  $iO  for  exchange  of  ticket  can  he 
avoided,  irroHded  they  oHginaUy  deHgnate  the  return  route  via  Portland  and  the  Northern  Pacific^  either  when 
purchasing  tickets  at  the  initial  point,  or  when  purchasing  the  original  tickets  or  exchanging  orders  for 
tickets  at  Missouri  River  offices. 

The  arrangements  mentioned  above  apply  to  all  Pociflc  Coast  lines,  except  thu  Atchison,  Topeka  &, 
Santa  Fe  Railroad. 

Return  coupons,  reading  from  Council  BlulTs,  Omaha,  Pacific  Junction,  Leavenworth,  St.  Joseph,  Atch- 
ison or  Kansas  City  to  Chicago,  via  the  C,  M.  &  St.  P..  C,  R.  I.  &  P.,  C.  &  A.,  C,  B.  &  Q..  C.  &  N.-VV.  and 
W.,  St.  L.  &  P..  will  be  honored  without  extra  charge  from  St.  Paul  or  Minneapolis  to  Chicago.  Return 
tickets  from  the  Missouri  River  to  St.  Lovis  will  be  exchanged  for  return  tickets  from  St.  Paul  or  Minneap- 
olis to  St.  Louis  on  payment  of  %h  extra.  Application  should  be  made  on  arrival  at  St.  Paul  to  Charles  S. 
Fee,  Oen'l  Pass,  and  Ticket  Agent. 

The  rate  of  %\h  referretl  to  alwve  /ncludes  state  room  and  meals  en  route. 

The  steamers  of  the  Pacific  Coast  Steamship  Co.,  plying  between  San  Francisco  and  Portland,  Ore.,  are 
the  "  Columbia,"  "  Oregon  "  ond'' State  of  California.*'  Steamers  leave  Spear  Street  Wharf ,  San  Francisco, 
at  10  A.  M.,  at  Intervals  of  Ave  days. 

The  "  Queen  of  the  Pacific '"  and  "  Mexico  "  sail  every  eight  days  from  San  Francisco  for  Victoria,  Pt. 
Townsend,  Seattle,  Tacoma  and  all  Puget  Sound  points.  Rates  to  Victoria,  Pt.  Townsand,  Seattle  and 
Tacoma,  same  as  Portland,  i.e.,  first  class,  $30   second  class,  $10;  excursion,  $15. 

Call  upon  or  write  any  of  the  following  General  or  Traveling  Passenger  Agents  for  Information,  copies 
of  "  Alice's  Adventures  in  the  New  Wouderland,"  and  the  new  tourist's  guide,  "  Through  Wonderland  with 
Ueut.  Schwatka."  CHARLES  8.  FEE, 

Oen'l  Pa»».  and  Ticket  Agt.  Northern  Paciflo  B.  R.,  ST.  PAUL,  MINN. 

QERXBAL  AND  SPBOIAI.  AOSNTS. 
A.  D.  CHARLTON,  General  Western  Passenger  Agent,  2  Washington  Street Portland,  Ore. 

D.  B.  JACKSON,  Gen'l  Pass.  Agent  Pacific  Coast  Steamship  Co.,  214  Montgomery  St San  Francisco,  Cal. 

C.  B.  KINNAN,  General  Agent  Passenger  Department,  811)  Broadway New  York. 

J.  L  HARRIS,  New  England  Agent,  300  Washington  Street Boston. 

E.  R.  WADSWORTII,  General  Agent,  m  Clark  Street Chicago. 

A.  L.  STOKES.  General  Agent Helena,  Mont. 

JAMES  McCAIO,  Ticket  Agent Butte,  Mont. 

A.  8.  CHASE,  General  Agent Duluth,  Minn  ,  and  Superior.  Wis. 

A.  ROEDELHEIMER,  General  Agent,  comer  High  and  Chestnut  Streets Cohimhus.  O. 

TH08.  HENRY,  Agent,  154  St.  James  Street Montreal,  Canada. 

TKAVEIilNa  PASSENQEB   AOBNTS. 

A.  J.  QXJIN.  808  Washington  Street Boston.  Mass. 

J.  H.  ROGERS,  Jr..  lllSouth  Ninth  Street Philadelphia,  Pa. 

F.  G.  EVANS.  Ill  South  Ninth  Street    Philadelphia,  Pa. 

GEO.  D.  TELLER,  21  Exchonge  Street Bufrolo,  N.  Y. 

D.  W.  JANOWITZ,  5fl  West  Washington  Street Indianapolis,  Ind 

FRED  H.  LORD,  62  Clark  Street... ■  liicago.  111. 

T.  L.  SHORTELL,  112  North  Fourth  Street .St.  Louis.  Mo. 

8.  H.  MILLS,  1.52  Walnut  Street Cincinnati.  O. 

ELVIN  H.  SMITH,  3!S  Broadway Milwaukee,  Wis. 

A.  A.  JACK,  20O  Fourth  Street Des  Moines,  la. 

W.  F.  CARSON,  2  Washington  Street Portland,  Ore. 


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